Analysis of George Kennan's Sources of Soviet Conduct Essay

This essay delves into George Kennan's analysis of the Soviet Union's conduct, as presented in his influential work, 'Sources of Soviet Conduct.' It examines the core aims of the Soviet regime, which Kennan believed centered on the global propagation of communism and socialism, particularly in the aftermath of World War II. The essay explores the various methods employed by the Soviet Union to achieve these objectives, including exploiting the economic vulnerabilities of post-war Eastern European nations. Furthermore, the essay analyzes the United States' response, specifically the policy of containment, advocated by Kennan to limit Soviet influence. Kennan's perspective emphasized the importance of understanding the Kremlin's flexible nature and the potential for negotiation to maintain international stability. The essay concludes by highlighting Kennan's framework for addressing the ideological differences between capitalism and socialism, aiming for an amicable resolution between the two superpowers during the Cold War era.

Running head: GEORGE KENNAN’S SOURCES OF SOVIET CONDUCT
George Kennan’s Sources of Soviet Conduct
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Author Note

1GEORGE KENNAN’S SOURCES OF SOVIET CONDUCT
The end of the Second World War marked a lot of changes in the world. One of the major
changes that was brought about was the division of the world in to two powerful blocs, one
headed by the United States of America and the other by the Soviet Union. This division was
based on their allegiance to their political ideology which was capitalism and socialism
respectively. This essay seeks to understand this conflicting differences based on George
Kennan’s Sources of Soviet Conduct. It tries to analyze the aims of the Soviet regime, the
various methods by which they hope to achieve such hopes and the policy of containment
pursued by the United States in order to counter the motives of the Soviet Union.
George Kennan was a diplomat of the United States posted in the Soviet Union. As a
result, he was well aware of the various designs of both the countries after the end of the Second
World War. Kennan was of the belief that the main objective of the Soviet Union was to spread
its ideals of communism and socialism to all other parts of the world, especially within the
countries of the Eastern Europe. This was deemed to be necessary because the Second World
War brought about a lot of devastation and misery for all the concerned nation states. However,
it was the poorer countries of Eastern Europe who has to face the brunt of the problem as they
did not have enough finances to rebuild themselves after the war. Thus, the aim of the Soviet
Union proved to be achievable by exploiting the financial needs of such countries.
The Soviet Union sought to achieve this objective through the mechanism of instituting
certain changes in its policies. Kennan opined that the Soviet Union has considerable time in its
hand in order to bring about the necessary changes which would lead to the propagation of the
idea of socialism throughout the different parts of the world. The region of Soviet Union sought
to achieve this by the way of destructing the capitalist ideals of the United States.
In order to prevent this, Kenna advocated the institution of the policy of containment. The
policy of containment was one of the strategic designs of the United States which sought to
confine the extension of the power and influence of the Soviet Union on the other parts of the
county. Kenna stated that the Kremlin, the institution of power within the Soviet Union was quite
flexible in nature. As a result, the United States should try to negotiate with the state leaders of
the Soviet Union and persuade them to maintain their prestige and honor in the world forum. In
this the United States would be successful in their policy of containment.
In conclusion, it can be observed that George Kennan sought to provide a structural
frame work for solving the problems of capitalism and socialism that exist in the two countries.
He wanted the two nations to solve the ideological differences in an amicable manner.