The Vietnam War: The Diplomacy of War

Political opposition to US intervention in Vietnam eventually became the central issue of the conflict. ‘Hawks’ and ‘doves’ hotly debated the issue in Congress, policy forums, schools, churches, and often in the streets as well. Combined with the civil rights movement, and the emergence of a ‘counter-culture’, the antiwar movement contributed to a deeply divided nation. Both Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard M Nixon found it impossible to ignore the widespread dissent. The antiwar movement encouraged both to seek a negotiated settlement of the Vietnam conflict. In Hanoi, the Vietnamese communists had anticipated the growth of dissent in the West, which they counted on as part of their overall strategy of victory in guerilla war. The scholars writing in this volume analyze the role of the peace movement, its evolution, implications, and legacies.