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Life Of Ronald Reagan Essay, Research Paper

Undoubtedly, the foreign policy of the United States has been marked by its multi-faceted scope of intentions, policy shifts, and images throughout the last two centuries. Though it remains a relatively young country, it has been a major factor in weighing the balance of power in the world, during peacetime and in periods of war. Ronald Reagan, perhaps more than any other president of the United States, has shifted this balance of power to a point where the international community is no longer divided in two. This makes him, from a foreign policy perspective, one of the most interesting presidents in the history of the United States.

In 1823, the Monroe Doctrine advocated American isolationism. Then came the Truman Doctrine. A few decades later, the Soviet Union’s nuclear capabilities succeeded that of the United States’, SALT II was a failure, and the domino effect assured the collapse of democracies around the world. Thus was the situation when Ronald Reagan assumed power in 1981. Immediately, though, the newly initiated president took a much harder approach to communism. He was incredulous of containment policy (1), reluctant to negotiate treaties with the Soviet leaders on the basis of distrust, and, as opposed to former presidents, regarded the Cold War as winnable. This brought about the space program SDI. His anti-Soviet rhetoric reflected his innate desire to depart from d tente, and embark on a much sterner course. In the first few years of his presidency, military spending reached levels not seen since the Korean War, American-Soviet relations were cold indeed, and the prospects of arms limitations seemed dim. Reagan’s clearest departure from 1970’s policy was to be found in what some observers dubbed the Reagan doctrine. The Reagan doctrine was premised on the assumption that direct military, economic and political pressure against communist governments, would strain the Soviet Union’s military and economic system to a point where they could not compete.

The questions remain, however: what were Reagan’s initial policies towards the Soviet Union, how did he seek to realize these intentions, and what were the successes and failures that followed in their wake. To answer these, investigation must be made into the nature of his political character, with particular focus on speeches and comments made during his presidency. Furthermore, inquiry will be made into the, in my opinion, most important aspects of Ronald Reagan’s policy toward the Soviet Union: arms control (Negotiating With the Soviet Union), SDI, and the Reagan doctrine. Together, they give a representative picture of his foreign policy, and the means by which to answer the above questions. Additionally, I will investigate whether Reagan actually set a new tone in the US-Soviet relationship.

There shall remain no doubt, though: when Reagan left office in 1989, the world was in a state of transition. The break-up of the Soviet Republic would soon become a reality, the United States would be the only superpower in the world, and the threat of nuclear war would be greatly reduced. The whole extent of Ronald Reagan’s role in implementing these matters is, of course, not possible to discern entirely. However, I am convinced he played quite an important part the motivation for developing this homepage.

RONALD REAGAN’S POLITICAL CHARACTER

The perceptions of Ronald Reagan as a political figure and a foreign policy maker are numerous.

He was seen by some, as an “ideological cold warrior”, by others such as Margaret Thatcher, as a savior, the man who “won the cold war without firing a shot.”(2) The plethora of opinions and ideas concerning the president are, however, fully justifiable. There is probably no other president in history who has been accused of, not only radically changing his stance throughout his presidency, but also of being a man of bigotry. Some critics were thus concerned about the prospect of having a president who had “prejudices about the Soviet Union.”(3) Ronald Reagan’s macro management of government affairs and foreign matters led many of his critics, and even some of his supporters to severely criticize him for carelessness, and not being able to fully comprehend world politics. Leslie Gelb described it as thus: “the President’s ideas about the world situation are from his life, his personal history, rather than study.”(4)

He was a passionate conservative, blunt and direct in his political speeches, and more often than not, took to applying anti-Soviet rhetoric to an unheard-of degree: “Let’s not delude ourselves, the Soviet Union underlies all the unrest that is going on. If they weren’t engaged in this game of dominoes, there wouldn’t be any hot spots in the world.”(5) Ronald Reagan’s dedication to freedom, and his apathy for communism was continuously reflected by his actions and his addresses to Congress and the American public. He was, in short, a hard-liner on communism, intent to “leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history.”(6)

His primary goals in regards to communism can be traced back a long way. In a 1962 speech, at which time he was governor of California, he described the political system of the Soviet Union as “a single world-wide force dedicated to the destruction of our free enterprise system and the creation of a Socialist State.”(7) This approach to the Soviet system is affirmed and consolidated by speeches made throughout his presidency. The speeches are essential to understanding Reagan the politician, and Reagan the ideologue, for they not only present us with his intentions, but indeed also the ideals and the means by which he expected to realize these. Several themes recur throughout his speeches, and will here be discussed in further detail.

DETERRENCE

As the Soviet Union

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