Foreign Policy Research Institute A Nation Must Think Before it Acts US Foreign Policy of the 1990s – Peacekeeping and Nation-building

US Foreign Policy of the 1990s – Peacekeeping and Nation-building

National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: Thematic Strand Index: https://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands
Standard #2: Time, Continuity and Change
Standard #6: Power, Authority and Governance
Standard #9: Global Connections

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Science, 6-12
Key Ideas and Details
RH/SS.2—determine and summarize central ideas and themes
RH/SS.3—analyze text related individuals, events or ideas
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
RH/SS.9—analyze and/or compare primary/secondary sources
Comprehension and Collaboration
SL.1—prepare and participate effectively in a range of conversations.
SL.2—integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
SL.4—present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
SL.5—make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.

ISTE (NETS.S) National Educational Technology Standards for Students
2. Communication and Collaboration. Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
3. Research and Information Fluency. Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

Florida
SS.912.A.7.11
Analyze the foreign policy of the United States as it relates to Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East.

SS.912.A.7.12
Analyze political, economic, and social concerns that emerged at the end of the 20th century and into the 21st century.

What insights on Russian history, geography, and culture does George Kennan offer? How does Kennan view the United States’ worldview compared to that of the Soviet Union?

What event, or events, ended the Cold War?

What is the difference between nation building and peacekeeping? Provide evidence from events and policy makers on this subject.

What event changed US foreign policy in the 1990’s? How were events in Rwanda, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo similar and different?

Read Chapter VI and VII in the United Nations Charter. Describe the collateral missions of the United Nations and the US during the 1990s and explain how these missions met the objectives of the United Nations.

How does General Colin Powell’s ideas for the military differ from Secretary of State Madeline Albright? (Refer to primary sources—documents, interviews, or speeches—during the 1990s only.)

How was the mission of the Berlin Airlift (1948-1949) similar and different to the humanitarian efforts of the 1990s?

1. (Day 1) Review of the Cold War and US foreign policy from 1945-1989. Read select primary sources from the Cold War era. These documents may include excerpts. Select 3-4 documents for this collaborative text discussion. See a list of suggested Cold War documents listed under Links/Resources.
a. Collaborative text discussion. Assign cooperative groups of 4 students. Distribute selected documents and questions to each group. Either post documents electronically or photocopy documents for each student a few days prior to the discussion day. Students should have read documents before participating in the collaborative text discussion.
b. Students should each have their own copy of the texts on the discussion day. Teacher should distribute a few questions for each document to guide their small group discussion. Students take notes and ask questions to their peers for comprehension. Teacher circulates to student groups and models facilitation. Reciprocal Reading Approach: Teacher may wish to assign students a role: facilitator (probes and ask questions), recorder (writes notes on behalf of the group), investigator (analyzes and helps clarify the text), and reviewer (summarizes the text and initiates prior knowledge).
c. Depending upon the length of the documents, the group discussion should last 30-50 minutes.
d. Teacher conducts a large group discussion and debriefs on the Cold War documents.

2. (Day 2) Watch the entire segment of Janine Davidson’s April 26, 2014 lecture via FPRI’s website (*See resource list below for video link). Teacher should view segment prior to class presentation and research topics within the speech that students may not understand, i.e., Westphalia, Carl von Clausewitz On War, Helsinki Accords, etc. *This video could be assigned for HW and then the teacher can lead a large group discussion of key points of the video the next day. Teacher may also choose to highlight a few segments in class and ask follow-up questions.

3. (Days 3-5) Collaborative Project. Teacher explains expectations for Cold War Annotative Timeline and 1990’s Multimedia Presentation.
a. Allow class time for students to work together. The Cold War Annotative Timeline could also be assigned as an individual assessment. Students should showcase 10-15 events from 1945 to 1989.
b. Multimedia Presentations may include a slide show of pictures with student explanations, a Keynote or PowerPoint presentation, or a student-generated movie with video clips. If technology is a concern, students could have the option of generating an interactive storyboard of events using posters, puppets, or other props to tell their story. Use teacher discretion on the length of the presentation. Suggested time should be 3 minutes (slide show/multimedia video) to no more than 15 minutes for a PowerPoint or low-tech presentation. Teacher may also choose to assign each group a particular 1990s US event to research.

Evaluation:
1. Collaborative text discussion class participation
2. Collaborative Project: Cold War Annotated Timeline and Multimedia Presentation

Berlin Airlift https://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/02__GIC/GIC/05/04__Airlift/__Airlift.html

Berlin Airlift. Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, “60th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift 2008/2009, Friends Always”–Teacher Kit https://www.germany.info/contentblob/2115020/Daten/294633/Teacher_Kit_PDF.pdf

Berlin Wall (1961-1989) https://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/02__GIC/GIC/05/08-Mauerfall25/Mauerfall25.html

Charter of the United Nations, Chapters 6 and 7:
https://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter6.shtml
https://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter7.shtml

Davidson, Janine. “The Savage Wars of Peacekeeping and Peace Enforcement: Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo (Video).” April 26, 2014. https://www.fpri.org/multimedia/2014/04/savage-wars-peacekeeping-and-peace-enforcement-somalia-haiti-bosnia-herzegovina-and-kosovo/

Dulles, John. “New Policy of Boldness,” (May 1952)
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/new-policy-of-boldness/

Kennan, George. “The Long Telegram,” (Feb 22, 1946)
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/the-long-telegram/

Kosovo, “Ethnic Cleansing and Atrocities in Kosovo.” Frontline. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kosovo/cleansing/

Lippman, Walter. “Excerpts from the Cold War,” (1947) https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/excerpts-from-the-cold-war/

Modern Era Documents (Cold War, Truman Doctrine, North Atlantic Treaty, NSC-68)
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/general-readings-modern/

NSC-68: UNITED STATES OBJECTIVES AND PROGRAMS FROM NATIONAL SECURITY https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/nsc-68-united-state-objectives-and-programs-from-national-security/

Novikov, Nikolai. “Telegram Regarding American Postwar Behavior,” (September 1946), https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/telegram-regarding-american-postwar-behavior/

The Rwandan Genocide –Facts & Summary – History.com
https://www.history.com/topics/rwandan-genocide

Schulzinger, Robert D. U.S. Diplomacy since 1900, sixth edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), ISBN 0195320497

Truman, on the North Atlantic Treaty, https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/speech-asking-the-senate-to-ratify-the-north-atlantic-treaty/

United States Department of State—Office of Historians, Milestones: 1945–1952: The Early Cold War:https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952
War Power Resolution (1973) https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/war-powers-resolution/

Author
  • Jennifer Jolley
  • Palm Bay Magnet High School
Grade Level
  • High School: 9, 10, 11, 12
Time Frame
  • (4-5) 45-minute class periods

If you have any questions about this lesson plan, or if you wish to contact the author, please email us at history@fpri.org