The Vietnam Syndrome and the Iraq War: American exceptionalism and the role of domestic public opinion in US military intervention

Clayton, Jack James

Abstract

The thesis reinterprets the Vietnam Syndrome that describes the section of US public opinion that has been hesitant to use military intervention since the failure of the Vietnam War. It makes an original contribution to scholarship by arguing that these sentiments should be understood as being an important part of the broader debate of American exceptionalism, by calling for deeper introspection about the use of military intervention and how the United States can most effectively promote its ideals of democracy promotion, liberty, and free markets, either more as a crusader or exemplar. It builds on existing scholarship by identifying that these attitudes moved the debate beyond the dichotomous paradigm of being either ‘internationalist’ or ‘isolationist’ amidst the failure of the 2003 Iraq War. The research uses Walter Russell Mead’s US Foreign Policy Traditions as the theoretical framework to analyse the domestic political, cultural, and social factors in US foreign policy, and applies them to examining the Vietnam Syndrome. It evaluates the neoconservatives’ worldview that was largely shaped in response to anti-Vietnam War protests, as a combination of Wilsonian ideals in democracy promotion, and Jacksonian objectives of primacy to nullify threats to US power through unilateral military action if necessary. The research argues that the neoconservatives regarded the attitudes of the Vietnam Syndrome as defeatist rather than being an important part of US foreign policy debate. The subsequent failures in the Iraq War catalysed greater introspection about the United States’ use of military intervention amongst the public and policymakers, compared to the Vietnam War.
Furthermore, Barack Obama’s response resonated with the attitudes of the Vietnam Syndrome through his Jeffersonian foreign policy approach of restraint that considered the domestic implications of using military intervention. The thesis argues that Obama attempted to stem decline, rather than accept it, by trying to use US power more judiciously by considering domestic public opinion in his decision-making, and what role military intervention should have to promote US ideals most effectively. He therefore listened more to the attitudes of the Vietnam Syndrome when considering the use of military intervention in the effort that the United States could fulfil its perceived role of being an exceptional nation and global leader. This materialised by the development of his ‘smart power’ strategy that combined using hard and soft power instruments. Obama’s smart power strategy reflected his preference for a more diplomatic foreign policy approach, including with traditional adversaries such as Iran. Obama sparingly used military intervention such as in Libya and Syria to avoid protracted conflicts to prevent provoking the attitudes of the Vietnam Syndrome, and his Jeffersonian foreign policy approach. His presidency therefore represented a significant fault-line in the debate about American exceptionalism regarding what US power could achieve, and how the United States should promote its values and ideals.

Citation

Clayton, J. J. The Vietnam Syndrome and the Iraq War: American exceptionalism and the role of domestic public opinion in US military intervention. (Thesis). SOAS University of London

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: May 12, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: May 12, 2025
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.25501/soas.00462905
• Additional Information: 285 pages
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2025