‘Richard Nixon proved himself to be a master of statesmanship in foreign affairs’ Assess the validity of this view.

As Vice President (1953-1961) and subsequently as President (1969-1974), Richard Nixon consistently attempted to portray himself as a highly capable statesman and master of foreign affairs. This effort has been at least partially successful. In assessing his presidency, historians such as Niall Fergusson and Luke Nichter have portrayed Nixon as a master statesman and diplomat. However, this assessment of Nixon as is based around his actions during one or two high profile episodes (rapprochement with China and detente with the USSR). If one considers Nixon's other major foreign policy dealings, however, a much more mixed and complicated picture emerges.
During Richard Nixon's tenure as President, U.S.-Chinese relations and U.S.-USSR relations improved significantly. Cold War tensions, which had risen considerably during the early 1960s, cooled considerably. This was not Nixon's work alone, however. Indeed, detente with the USSR and rapprochement with China was achieved through many months of hard work of many low level diplomats, informal diplomacy through sports, and the work of Henry Kissinger. And yet, during Richard Nixon's time in office, there were also a number of foreign policy failures. As Larry Berman has shown, the Paris Peace Accords which supposedly concluded the Vietnam War were a sham treaty, which high-level U.S. officials knew would not hold. In addition, U.S. relations with countries in the Middle East deteriorated significantly during this period culminating in the 1973 OPEC oil embargo. In dealing with these countries, Nixon and members of his administration did not exhibit mastery. In fact, his actions contributed to the weakening of America's international standing and economic and political power. As a result, any assessment of Nixon's statesmanship must content with both his successes and his failures, while also acknowledging the role that other individuals played in determining the outcome of these events.