Ronald Reagan and US foreign policy in the 1980s

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A-Levels Cold War (End of Cold War) Mindmap am Ronald Reagan and US foreign policy in the 1980s, erstellt von jacksearle am 21/05/2014.
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Ronald Reagan and US foreign policy in the 1980s
  1. Reagan's objectives coming into power in 1981
    1. US foreign policy should be used to weaken the position of the USSR
      1. relevant policies - Reagan Doctrine - Changing Diplomacy -SDI
      2. To restrict trade with the USSR
        1. Relevant policy - Trade restrictions
        2. To increase US defence spending
          1. Relevant policy - SDI
        3. The Reagan Doctrine
          1. R hoped to weaken the USSR by providing US support to anti-communist 'freedom-fighters' around the world
            1. Commitment became known as the Reagan Doctrine
              1. key example - Reagan Doctrine in action was US support for the Mujahideen in the battle against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan
          2. Changing Diplomacy
            1. During R's first term as president - most important change was the way in which US foreign policy was presented to the US public - and to the world at large
              1. R believed that previous presidents had failed to convince the US public of need for an ongoing battle against comm
                1. Believed that support for the US position in the Cold War had dropped due to US failure in Vietnam
                  1. For R, the Cold War was a moral mission and he felt that the US public should stand behind their govt
                    1. R changed govt's approach through increasingly hard-line rhetoric
                      1. Best example - 1983 speech, describes USSR as 'evil empire'
                2. In addition - R made a series of public statements about the US relationship with the world
                  1. e.g publicly discussed USA's revised policy on nuclear war against the USSR
                    1. Argued that USA was prepared for a 'limited nuclear war in Europe'
                      1. This persuaded senior Soviet military leaders that the USA was considering options for a first strike in a nuclear war
                  2. At home and abroad - R's diplomacy weakened the Soviet position
                    1. in USA - R's hard-line rhetoric won domestic support for increased spending on defence, ensuring that the USA had a superior position in the arms race
                      1. R's diplomacy gave the initiative in the Cold War to the West
                  3. Trade Restrictions
                    1. R introduced a series of trade restrictions to reduce the USSR's ability to buy Western technology and energy
                      1. December 1981 - R restricted Soviet access to US-developed energy exploration technology
                        1. June 1982 - R restricted Soviet access to US oil and gas and related technical data
                    2. SDI 'Star Wars'
                      1. 1984 - R initiated the Strategic Defence Initiative SDI
                        1. Essentially - R was prepared to negotiate arms reduction treaties with the USSR - but wanted to negotiate from position of strength
                          1. SDI - put US in position of strength as it had the potential to provide a shield against Soviet missiles,
                            1. And USSR could not match the space or computer tech that was necessary to create the shield
                      2. Reagan's foreign policy and the end of the cold war
                        1. R's foreign policy wasn't intended to end the Cold war - but rather to weaken USSR
                          1. In fact - R's policy was so successful in weakening USSR that it played a major role in ended the Cold War.
                          2. Significance of The Reagan Doctrine on the end of the Cold War
                            1. Reagan Doctrine decreased financial resources and political legitimacy of USSR
                              1. e.g support for the Mujahideen prolonged war in Afghanistan
                                1. This proved costly for the Soviets in 3 ways:
                                  1. Financially - war drained Soviet resources
                                    1. War was unpopular among Russian people - weakened support for the Soviet govt
                                      1. War was unpopular internationally - so weakened support for the USSR among international community
                                2. Significance of Changing diplomacy and SDI on the end of the Cold War
                                  1. R's proactive Cold War approach forced USSR to consider nuclear war as a real threat
                                    1. However - Soviet leaders realised that USA had a clear military advantage
                                      1. Therefore - elements in the Soviet govt began to consider a negotiated end to the arms race
                                  2. Significance of Trade Restrictions for the end of the Cold War
                                    1. Limiting Soviet access to America's energy and technology exposed the weaknesses of the Soviet economy in the minds of Soviet leaders
                                      1. In this sense - restrictions led to a crisis of confidence at the top of the Soviet govt
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