Analysis Of George F. Kannan's The Sources Of Soviet Conduct

In his article "The Sources of Soviet Conduct" George F. Kannan outlines the history that attempts to explain the conduct of the Soviet Union foreign policy and why it was viewed as unfriendly and secretive. Kennan then goes on to attempt to highlight the Soviets Union's political personality as it stood at the time (1947). Finally, Kennan suggests ways in which capitalist societies (in particular the United States) can successfully interact with the Soviet Union.

What caused Russia to be the way it was:

Firstly, Kennan points out the fact that it was believed that commOnism was not only politically and morally sperior but that it was also infallible. He then goes on to explain the belief held that not only did capitalism exploit the working class but that capitalism would eventually lead to its own downfall either as a result of war or revolution. The next significant fact that Kennan points out was Russia's need for a dictatorship. At first, it was in place to make sure that there were no left over remnants of capitalism. However after these sectors were removed, there grew a need to justify the presence and authority of the dictatorship. In order to do this, Russia made people feel as if they were under the constant threat of war bought on my the

Kennan suggests that the Soviets should not be viewed as an immediate threat due to the states qualities such as patients, flexibility and deceptiveness. He believed that their method of spreading communism was one that involved an increasing but constant pressure on the rest of the world. Kennan does not imply that the Soviets had a preplanned timescale. He also goes on to suggest although the Soviet Union was perceived as highly sensitive to the force of others, it could not be defeated morally by a single loss to its