Introduction - The analysis of American grand strategy during the Vietnam War cannot be fully understood without placing it in the context of the Cold War and the foreign policy of “containment”. .” In this context, the details indicate that realist, liberal, and constructivist theories all contributed to American grand strategy of the era. However, a more detailed analysis reveals that while defensive realism guided foreign policy during this period of the Cold War, offensive realism was the predominant theory guiding American grand strategy in Vietnam. Its influence in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia has earned it recognition as a growing global power. In a cable sent from Moscow in 1946, addressing concerns about the offensive promotion of Soviet ideology, American diplomat George Kennan asserted that the Soviets were waging a continuing war against the idea of ​​capitalism by assertively promoting their own model of communism. . Kennan believed that the United States should counter the Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe with an alliance in Western Europe. This perceived threat and the idea of ​​great power parity between the United States and the Soviet Union led to the adoption of realistic approaches to American grand strategy. Kennan's suggestions were incorporated into the Truman Doctrine of 1947, which subsequently led to the adoption of the realistic defensive strategy of containment as the grand strategy of the Cold War. In 1948, the Marshall Plan added an economic component to the containment strategy. The Marshall Plan was an economic aid program designed to help rebuild European economies damaged by World War II, while helping to prevent the spread of Soviet influence in Western Europe. The Attributes of a Realistic Grand Strategy...... middle of paper ..... China's sphere of influence appears to be expanding and China has also intensified its efforts to establish itself as a global power. As realism predicts, when either of these states rises to challenge American hegemony, the influence of more realist approaches to American grand strategy will be expected. Conclusion – It is understood that realist, liberal, and constructivist theories all contributed to America's Cold War grand strategy. . Because there was high power parity throughout the Cold War, realist approaches remained dominant. However, while the period of Cold War détente during the Vietnam War was primarily a period of defensive realism, where minimal force was used multilaterally to affect the balance of power with the Soviet Union, the war itself adhered to a realistic offensive strategy, where maximum force was used unilaterally to affect North Vietnam's capabilities.