Client State

A nation supported politically, economically, and militarily by another nation. The United States supported a number of client states in return for their allegiance against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

As World War II ended, the United States was stunned by the aggressive efforts of the Soviet Union [Page 129]to install communist regimes throughout Eastern Europe. Alarmed by this rapid spread of communism, the U.S. government soon adopted a so-called policy of containment, formulated by political analyst and diplomat George Kennan. Under this policy, the United States would attempt to contain the spread of Soviet power by preventing the conversion of any additional nations into communist states.

To achieve this goal, the United States recognized that a reversion to the isolationist policies that had preceded World War II was not possible. Instead, the United States needed to develop an active presence in all areas of the world and defend its presence with force if necessary. Therefore, the United States worked to form regional alliances throughout the world. These alliances, it was argued, would increase the level of cooperation between the Unites States and its allies, intimidate the Soviet Union by showing it a united front, and provide the United States with an advantage in the recently created United Nations.

Among these alliances, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was the most crucial because it prevented the further spread of communism across Europe. But the United States also orchestrated other alliances throughout the world. In Latin America, the United States helped to form the Organization of American States. The Baghdad Pact created an alliance among Middle Eastern nations, and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization was formed to combat communist uprisings in Southeast Asia. The goal of these alliances was to include as many nations as possible. Provided that an individual nation openly refuted communism, the United States was willing to support and protect it. This willingness led to the creation of American client states.

American allies such as Great Britain obviously possessed strong economies, military forces, and an overall high standard of living. But many of the United States' new allies throughout Latin America, Africa, Asia, and even Europe were impoverished, lacked stable governments, or were militarily defenseless. Consequently, the United States frequently provided these nations with economic and humanitarian aid, financial assistance, generous trade agreements, political consulting, and even the use of American military force to suppress insurgencies. In return, these client states were only required to support the United States in the effort against communism.

The client-state arrangement ultimately offered serious drawbacks, however. Client states could easily manipulate the United States in return for their nominal support against communism. For example, Portugal threatened to withdraw from NATO if the United States opposed its continued exploitation of its African colonies. Furthermore, the United States often supported corrupt or repressive governments. In Greece, the United States sustained a military dictatorship, but when the dictatorship was overthrown, Greece weakened its ties with the United States. Finally, the United States was drawn into conflicts that it otherwise might have avoided. The Vietnam War was the most glaring example. Determined to protect the crumbling South Vietnamese government, the United States entered a bloody war that strained relations with allies around the world and caused extreme civil disturbance at home.

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