The Marshall Plan Analysis

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The Marshal Plan: Critical Comment Tarun Satyakumar (r0608623) International relations and European integration since WWII The Marshall Plan was an initiative of the USA to assist Western European countries recover after World War 2. It is also known as the European Recovery Program and was approved by congress 1948, shortly after Czechoslovakia became communist. The plan lasted 3 years and made available funds worth $13 billion. There have been numerous debates regarding the actual effects of the Marshall Plan as it has been both criticised and commended. At first glance, the plan seemed to succeed, which saw numerous contemporaries commend it for its impact on ensuring Europe‟s sustained recoveryiii. This might have been true as by 1951,…show more content…
They argue that the Marshall plan was an offensive measure against Soviet expansion in the cold war climate. Although this statement may be extreme, an analysis of quotes of the USA state department, 1947 by Sam O‟brien (2014) reveals that it does in fact seem like an expansion of the Truman doctrine, yet it may not be as offensive as argued by Cox and Kennedy-Pipe. However this was to both safeguard America‟s national security and to ensure that European markets would remain open and accessible. Overall it is clear that the size and investment effects of the Marshall Plan may not have directly contributed to economic recovery of a post war Europe. However the plan cannot be rendered as useless as it played a key role in achieving more subtle objectives by its effects on policy and by ensuring that critical gaps were filled. However, whether or not the plan was the key driver of economic recovery is still arguable. Furthermore, even if the USA acted in self-interest, the aims of both parties aligned in that both Europe and America benefited from the economic recovery of European…show more content…
The Economics of Freedom: The Progress and Future of Aid to Europe. New York: Harper & Row, 1950 iii Hitchcock, William I. "The Marshall Plan and the Creation of the West." In The Cambridge History of the Cold War, edited by Melvyn P. Leffler, 154-174. London: Cambridge University Press, 2013. iv Milward, Alan S. The Reconstruction of Western Europe, 1945-1951. London: Methuen, 1984. v De Long, J. Bradford and Barry Eichengreen. “The Marshall Plan: History‟s Most Successful Structural Adjustment Program.” In Postwar Economic Reconstruction and Lessons for the East Today, edited by Rudiger Dornbusch et al, 189-230. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1993 vi Hogan,The Marshall Plan: America, Britain, and the Reconstruction of Western Europe, 1947-1952 (1987) vii Borchardt, Knut and Christoph Buchheim. “The Marshall Plan and Key Economic Sectors: A Microeconomic Perspective.” In The Marshall Plan and Germany, edited by Charles S. Maier and Gunter Bischof, 410-451. Oxford: Berg, 1991 viii Esposito, Chiarella, America's Feeble Weapon: Funding the Marshall Plan in France and Italy, 1948-1950 ix Cox, Michael, and Caroline Kennedy-Pipe. "The Tragedy of American Diplomacy? Rethinking the Marshall Plan." Journal of Cold War Studies 7, no. 1 (Winter 2005):

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