Domino theory

: For the philosophical theory, see Domino theory of moral nonresponsibility.

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The domino theory was a 20th Century foreign policy theory that speculated if one key nation in a region came under the control of Communists, others would follow one after the other. A related idea, the domino effect, is that some change, small in itself, will cause a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on in linear sequence, by analogy to a falling row of dominoes standing on end.

Related Topics:
Foreign policy - Communists - Domino

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The theory was used by many United States leaders during the Cold War to justify U.S. intervention in the Vietnam War. The domino theory was applied by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his top advisers in 1954 to describe the prospects of communist expansion in Asia if Indochina were to fall. Eisenhower argued that all of southest Asia could fall. The theory's ultimate validity remained mixed, and debatable. After the U.S. left Vietnam, the North took over the South, and Cambodia and Laos had also turned to Communism, although Cambodia is a democracy now. This limited spread of Communism in Indochina provides ammunition for opponents of the theory, but both sides argue that the historical record overall supports their position.

Related Topics:
United States - Cold War - Vietnam War - Dwight D. Eisenhower - 1954 - Indochina - Asia - Cambodia - Laos

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In the 1980s, the domino theory was used again to justify the Reagan administration's interventions in Central America and the Caribbean region.

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From its first conception, many have disputed central assumptions of the domino theory, for instance by arguing that Communist States lacked the tradition of cooperation the theory assumes (eg Cambodia attacked Vietnam, to which Vietnam responded by overthrowing the Khmer Rouge government). Supporters however have continued to argue it was a sensible policy in the context of the times.

Related Topics:
Communist State - Khmer Rouge

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