The Marshall Plan: Dawn of the Cold War

            Anyone who studies the history of the twentieth century can recognize World War II as THE moment of the century. Entire libraries of scholarship exist on the subject, and I am not going to dispute the fact that the event warrants the historical attention it has received. Often ignored, but no less interesting (albeit far less sexy), are the years immediately after the German and Japanese surrenders, when the world order was being reshuffled and a new set of norms were being established. These years marked the beginning of the Cold War, which defined fifty years of American foreign policy. In this period of time, the United States government adopted policies and mindsets that were designed to counter the perceived antagonism of global communism, represented by the Soviet Union and its growing sphere of influence. The Marshall Plan, loosely defined as an economic aid package provided to Europe by the American government, is a large part of the foundation that American Cold War foreign policy was built upon. In his book The Marshall Plan: Dawn of the Cold War, economist Benn Steil provides an in depth, and at times wonky discussion of the historical roots of this economic policy, in addition to details on the behind the scenes maneuvering that led to its passage. Few works on the subject provide such a clear picture of the largeness of the time, while also providing a clear through-line to the modern geopolitical landscape. If you want to get a better understanding of the world today, particularly the relationship between the United States, Europe, and Russia in this tense moment in time, this is one book you must pick up. 

The bulk of the book is spent telling the story of the years 1945-1949, explaining how the devastation in Europe and rise of Soviet power gave the United States little choice but to intervene in the fate of the post war continent. The author does a masterful job of introducing a complicated cast of characters that are needed to tell the story, assisting the reader in keeping them straight and underscoring their importance to various moments. While the main thrust of the book is discussing the context surrounding President Truman’s eventual cajoling of Congress to pass the aid package, the text also explains the significance of early Cold War moments like the Berlin blockade and key players in policymaking like George Kennan, providing information that is germane to understanding the Cold War more broadly. The book has an admittedly narrow focus, but the air of consequence Steil is able to impart on the subject matter of the writing really draws the reader. The reader finds themself recognizing how crucial this history truly is. 

Steil is an economist by training, and that fact most definitely comes through in his writing. This statement is not meant to be taken as criticism, on the contrary a topic like the Marshall Plan, which is a rather niche subject to write over four hundred pages on, lends itself well to the matter of fact writing style of an economics professor. The book still has plenty of anecdotes, vivid descriptions, and interesting facts, but this is not a book that will be remembered for its artistry. Steil has a point to make and makes it very well: the Marshall Plan was not only an important piece of early American Cold War policy, but it has formed the foundation upon which the US-Russian relationship is built today, a relationship that he clearly states (at the date of publishing, 2018) is in a bad place. He spends the last forty pages of the book detailing the rest of Cold War history, specifically the relationship between the United States and then Soviet Union, and the effect of the USSR’s collapse in 1991. The impact of the Marshall PLan is evident in the descriptions of this history, making the book seem “worth” the read. As he describes the tension between the US (the West in general) and Russia in the last dozen or so pages, it feels strangely predicative, and I would expect he is working on a revised version of the book that includes recent events between Russia and Ukraine. Past is prologue as they say, and The Marshall Plan is a wonderful reminder of just how important knowledge of the past is to understanding the present.