Domino theory Domino theory The domino theory was a theory prominent from the 1950s to the 1980s that posited that if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect. The domino theory was used by successive United States administrations during the Cold War to justify the need for American intervention around the world. U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower described the theory during an April 7, 1954, news conference, when referring to communism in Indochina: In 1945, the Soviet Union brought most of the countries of eastern Europe and Central
Soviet Middle Eastern foreign policy during the Cold War Vietnamese peace negotiations. Moscow was limited in the peace talks because it did not recognize Israel diplomatically, which enabled the United States to talk to both sides. The U.S. responded to Soviet influence in the Middle East after the Camp David Accords by using economic sanctions to influence the Arab world. Geopolitics transitioned from post-Cold War polarization to 21st-century regional conflicts. The lack of two superpowers destabilized the Middle East as pressure-relieving, limited proxy conflicts grew into greater conflicts which spawned genocide. Soviet Middle Eastern foreign policy during the Cold War The Soviet Union used its relationship with Europe to