“Dien Bien Phu in the air” - A new practice of the “Madman theory” during the 1970s-context

Abstract

Amid the Cold War, Vietnam became a “hot spot” of international attention when the military battle was constantly escalating. In 1969 when Nixon assumed office for the first presidential term, he forcibly impressed international politics with his “tough,”  unpredictable,” and even “crazy” personality - which was in line with a theory that Nixon pursued during his political life, “Madman Theory.” During the Vietnam War, the “excessive force” principle of the “Madman Theory” was applied. However, unlike the “excessive force” applied in the 1940s and 1950s when dealing with Japanese affairs and the Korean War, the changes in international relations in the 1970s led to a distinction in the practice of this theory. The “Đien Bien Phu in the Air” in 1972, or so-called Operation Linebacker II, is not only the final practice of Nixon’s  “Madman Theory” in the Vietnam War; an event to examine the impact of superpowers’ relations on the application of the “Madman Theory,”; but also an attestation of the unwinnable war” of the U.S. in Vietnam.