In late-July 1961, US President John F. Kennedy announced a major military buildup over the dispute with the Soviet Union in Berlin. But why? The USA was superior militarily, and many Western leaders and policymakers considered the Soviet threat overblown. I offer an explanation for the puzzle: widespread fear among Kennedy and members of his administration, opposition leaders, the press, the diplomatic community, and international allies (i.e., his “in-group”) that he lacked resolve. Their impression of him as irresolute—formed long before but continued to brew after he assumed the highest political office—drove the emotion. They were obsessed, less with ascertaining Soviet intention than with bolstering Kennedy’s reputation for resolve—as they imagined it. As they expressed and fed on each other’s emotion, their sense of crisis intensified. Pent-up fear gave rise to a “cult of toughness,” culminating in and eventually finding outlet through Kennedy’s dramatic show of force.

1961 年 7 月下旬，美国总统约翰·F·肯尼迪在柏林宣布针对与苏联的争端进行大规模军事集结。但为什么？美国在军事上具有优势，许多西方领导人和政策制定者认为苏联的威胁被夸大了。我对这个谜题给出了一个解释：肯尼迪及其政府成员、反对派领导人、媒体、外交界和国际盟友（即他的“内部团体”）普遍担心他缺乏决心。他们对他优柔寡断的印象——很久以前就形成了，但在他担任最高政治职务后继续酝酿——推动了这种情绪。他们痴迷于确定苏联的意图，而不是像他们想象的那样，增强肯尼迪决心的声誉。当他们互相表达和滋养对方的情感时，他们的危机感也随之增强。