The American Discourse on the Soviet Union during the American Presidential Elections in the 1970s

Abstract The thesis is devoted to the American discourse on the Soviet Union during the American presidential elections of 1972 and 1976. Its main research question is whether foreign policy and discussions of the Soviet Union played any role during the elections and, if yes, what was it? Despite many studies, which cover the elections of president in the US, both of these campaigns have not been covered by my predecessors. What makes them even more interesting is the fact that 1970s witnessed one of the most critical periods in American internal politics. To answer my research question I used three mains sources: 1) political platforms of the candidates, 2) video of debates between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford from the campaign of 1976, 3) articles of the New York Times. My findings show that the American discourse of the Soviet Union was quite important during both presidential campaigns. However, the reasons for these might differ. In 1972, when relations between the USSR and the USA were quite stable, Soviet Union played only a role of ideological opponent. Contrary to that, in 1976, with the introduction of discourse on human rights by Jimmy Carter, Soviet Union was presented to the American audience as a suppressor of its own citizens. The reason for this, however, could be related exactly to the acute political situation in the country after the Watergate scandal of 1974 and the need to distract the voters from it.