“Eisenhower’s New Look policy marked a fundamental shift in Cold War policy away from Truman’s approach”- assess the validity of this statement.

Eisenhower’s “New Look” Policy, advocating “massive retaliation” and the “rollback” of Communism appeared to diverge from Truman’s approach, yet essentially maintained the basis of the Containment policy. Whilst a variety of new methods were used to combat Soviet influence, Eisenhower’s policy remained wedded to negative deterrence, thus the policy was an adaption of Truman’s but not a fundamental shift. The key components of Truman’s policy, such as the buildup of a nuclear arsenal and the globalisation of the Cold War were central in Eisenhower’s policy thus there was more continuation than change.