Conclusion

Abstract

The aftermath of World War II (WWII) left the United States and the Soviet Union seeking to consolidate their security in a realist world where strategic matters were deemed paramount and where conflicts of national interest were deemed inevitable. What became increasingly evident to postwar planners, however, was that realist strategic policies were inseparable from liberalist economic ones. Though incompatible in principle, economic liberalism and Cold War realism were seen in practice as complementary approaches. This meant putting in place a free-market system that promoted global interconnectedness.