Anything but Inevitable: How the Marshall Plan Became Possible

David M. McCourt, Stephanie L. Mudge

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Historians typically explain the Marshall Plan (1948–52) as an effect of a bipartisan embrace of liberal internationalism, which became the dominant ideology of US foreign policy. However, predominant accounts downplay interpretive contention, historical contingencies, and counterfactual possibilities that are very much in evidence. There was no bipartisan liberal internationalist consensus immediately after World War II; indeed, there were no “liberal internationalists” until 1947. The present analysis identifies two interconnected processes behind the Plan: the emergence of a new kind of political actor, the credibly anti-Communist New Deal liberal, and the coalescence of an unlikely coalition of Trumanites, New Dealers, and congressional conservatives. Together, these processes enabled the passage of a large-scale, Keynesian-style spending initiative that excluded Russia, despite the electoral weakness of New Dealers, and the consolidation of liberal internationalist ideology in American foreign policy—with significance for today's era of renewed great power competition.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)463-492
Number of pages30
JournalPolitics and Society
Volume51
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2023

Keywords

  • Marshall Plan
  • US foreign policy
  • United States
  • liberal internationalism
  • political persons

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Political Science and International Relations

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