Machiavellian Tactics In The Cold War Analysis

When World War II came to a close, the United States and the Soviet Union were left as two superpowers with such contrasting ideologies that they became a threat to each other. Gaddis claimed that the American politicians, having to face such a malevolent force, had to adopt Machiavellian tactics when necessary in order to maintain their safety. Although this claim remains valid to an extent due to the fact that some of the United States’ unscrupulous actions were employed to maintain their security, it is mostly false because it unfairly vilifies the Soviets, does not take into account that the Americans sometimes acted when it was not necessary, and creates the false idea that the Cold War transformed the Americans into Machiavellians when in reality, Americans had used Machiavellian tactics prior to the Cold War. The fuel for America and USSR’s rivalry was undeniably their different beliefs. America, defined by the freedom it gives its citizens …show more content…
For instance, the Watergate scandal is the perfect example of a president abusing his power with insubstantial evidence backing up why. Irrefutably, Nixon having wiretaps and break-ins is illegal, but by him trying to back it up by claiming “when the president does it” because of national security, “it is not illegal” he is at fault (Gaddis 157). This excuse proves to be outrageous in two ways. First, the United States was not facing a direct threat, so therefore Nixon did not have the right to abuse his power. Second of all, Nixon hired people to break into the Democratic Committee’s headquarters right before his reelection. In reality, he was probably using information against the Democratic Party rather than using it to protect the country. By him doing this, it shows how politicians utilized immoral tactics for their own advantage, proving the tactics to be more selfish than crucial to the safety of the