The Marshall Plan: Dawn of the Cold War - Book Launch with Dr. Benn Steil

Please join the Project on Prosperity and Development at CSIS for a public conversation with Dr. Benn Steil on Wednesday, April 4 at 10:00 AM to discuss his new book, The Marshall Plan: Dawn of the Cold War.

Dr. Steil’s new book brings to life the most ambitious development undertaking in history: The Marshall Plan. Born out of post-war realignment, the Marshall Plan focused on a trifecta of objectives: the reconstruction of Europe, preventing the spread of Communism, and defining the contours of a new global liberal order.

The Marshall Plan resulted in the creation of NATO and the European Union, the thriving economies of Western Europe, and the enduring idea that enlightened foreign intervention was possible. But the recovery program, which included aid equivalent to $800 billion today as a percentage of U.S. output, was not easy nor unifying. It accelerated the collapse of U.S.-Soviet relations, precipitating the Prague coup, the Berlin blockade, and the division of Germany.

Today, with Russian assertiveness in global affairs on the rise, and a U.S. commitment to the alliances and multilateral institutions it created on the wane, the Marshall Plan is again one of the most important case studies in American Grand Strategy. Please join as Dr. Steil recounts the history of the Marshall Plan and the ways in which it echoes into today’s global contexts.
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