909546
Description
Mind Map by jacksearle, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by jacksearle
over 10 years ago
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Ronald Reagan and US foreign
policy in the 1980s
- Reagan's objectives
coming into power in 1981
- US foreign policy should be used to
weaken the position of the USSR
- relevant policies - Reagan Doctrine -
Changing Diplomacy -SDI
- relevant policies - Reagan Doctrine -
Changing Diplomacy -SDI
- To restrict trade with the USSR
- Relevant policy - Trade restrictions
- Relevant policy - Trade restrictions
- To increase US defence spending
- Relevant policy - SDI
- Relevant policy - SDI
- US foreign policy should be used to
weaken the position of the USSR
- The Reagan Doctrine
- R hoped to weaken the USSR by providing US support to
anti-communist 'freedom-fighters' around the world
- Commitment became known as the Reagan Doctrine
- key example - Reagan Doctrine in action was US support for the Mujahideen in
the battle against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan
- key example - Reagan Doctrine in action was US support for the Mujahideen in
the battle against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan
- Commitment became known as the Reagan Doctrine
- R hoped to weaken the USSR by providing US support to
anti-communist 'freedom-fighters' around the world
- Changing Diplomacy
- 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
- R believed that previous presidents had failed to convince the US
public of need for an ongoing battle against comm
- Believed that support for the US position in the Cold
War had dropped due to US failure in Vietnam
- For R, the Cold War was a moral mission and he felt that
the US public should stand behind their govt
- R changed govt's approach through increasingly hard-line rhetoric
- Best example - 1983 speech, describes USSR as 'evil empire'
- Best example - 1983 speech, describes USSR as 'evil empire'
- R changed govt's approach through increasingly hard-line rhetoric
- For R, the Cold War was a moral mission and he felt that
the US public should stand behind their govt
- Believed that support for the US position in the Cold
War had dropped due to US failure in Vietnam
- In addition - R made a series of public statements
about the US relationship with the world
- e.g publicly discussed USA's revised policy on
nuclear war against the USSR
- Argued that USA was prepared for a 'limited nuclear war in Europe'
- This persuaded senior Soviet military leaders that the USA
was considering options for a first strike in a nuclear war
- This persuaded senior Soviet military leaders that the USA
was considering options for a first strike in a nuclear war
- Argued that USA was prepared for a 'limited nuclear war in Europe'
- e.g publicly discussed USA's revised policy on
nuclear war against the USSR
- At home and abroad - R's diplomacy
weakened the Soviet position
- 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
- R's diplomacy gave the initiative in the Cold War to the West
- R's diplomacy gave the initiative in the Cold War to the West
- 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
- 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
- Trade Restrictions
- R introduced a series of trade restrictions to reduce the
USSR's ability to buy Western technology and energy
- December 1981 - R restricted Soviet access to US-developed
energy exploration technology
- June 1982 - R restricted Soviet access to US oil and gas and related technical data
- June 1982 - R restricted Soviet access to US oil and gas and related technical data
- December 1981 - R restricted Soviet access to US-developed
energy exploration technology
- R introduced a series of trade restrictions to reduce the
USSR's ability to buy Western technology and energy
- SDI 'Star Wars'
- 1984 - R initiated the Strategic Defence Initiative SDI
- Essentially - R was prepared to negotiate arms reduction treaties
with the USSR - but wanted to negotiate from position of strength
- SDI - put US in position of strength as it had the potential to provide a
shield against Soviet missiles,
- And USSR could not match the space or computer tech that was necessary to create the shield
- And USSR could not match the space or computer tech that was necessary to create the shield
- SDI - put US in position of strength as it had the potential to provide a
shield against Soviet missiles,
- Essentially - R was prepared to negotiate arms reduction treaties
with the USSR - but wanted to negotiate from position of strength
- 1984 - R initiated the Strategic Defence Initiative SDI
- Reagan's foreign policy and the
end of the cold war
- R's foreign policy wasn't intended to end the Cold war - but
rather to weaken USSR
- In fact - R's policy was so successful in weakening USSR
that it played a major role in ended the Cold War.
- In fact - R's policy was so successful in weakening USSR
that it played a major role in ended the Cold War.
- Significance of The Reagan Doctrine on
the end of the Cold War
- Reagan Doctrine decreased financial resources
and political legitimacy of USSR
- e.g support for the Mujahideen
prolonged war in Afghanistan
- This proved costly for the Soviets in 3 ways:
- Financially - war drained Soviet resources
- War was unpopular among Russian people -
weakened support for the Soviet govt
- War was unpopular internationally - so weakened
support for the USSR among international community
- Financially - war drained Soviet resources
- This proved costly for the Soviets in 3 ways:
- e.g support for the Mujahideen
prolonged war in Afghanistan
- Reagan Doctrine decreased financial resources
and political legitimacy of USSR
- Significance of Changing diplomacy and
SDI on the end of the Cold War
- R's proactive Cold War approach forced USSR to
consider nuclear war as a real threat
- However - Soviet leaders realised that USA had a
clear military advantage
- Therefore - elements in the Soviet govt began to
consider a negotiated end to the arms race
- Therefore - elements in the Soviet govt began to
consider a negotiated end to the arms race
- However - Soviet leaders realised that USA had a
clear military advantage
- R's proactive Cold War approach forced USSR to
consider nuclear war as a real threat
- Significance of Trade Restrictions for
the end of the Cold War
- Limiting Soviet access to America's energy and technology exposed the
weaknesses of the Soviet economy in the minds of Soviet leaders
- In this sense - restrictions led to a crisis of confidence at the top of the Soviet govt
- In this sense - restrictions led to a crisis of confidence at the top of the Soviet govt
- Limiting Soviet access to America's energy and technology exposed the
weaknesses of the Soviet economy in the minds of Soviet leaders
- R's foreign policy wasn't intended to end the Cold war - but
rather to weaken USSR
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