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Reagan Doctrine

The Reagan Doctrine was stated by United States President Ronald Reagan in his State of the Union address on February 6, 1985: "We must not break faith with those who are risking their lives—on every continent from Afghanistan to Nicaragua—to defy Soviet-supported aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth."[1] It was a strategy implemented by the Reagan Administration to overwhelm the global influence of the Soviet Union in the late Cold War. The doctrine was a centerpiece of United States foreign policy from the early 1980s until the end of the Cold War in 1991.

Under the Reagan Doctrine, the United States provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist guerrillas and resistance movements in an effort to "roll back" Soviet-backed pro-communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The doctrine was designed to diminish Soviet influence in these regions as part of the administration's overall strategy to win the Cold War.

Background[edit]

The Reagan Doctrine followed in the tradition of U.S. presidents developing foreign policy "doctrines", which were designed to reflect challenges facing international relations, and to propose foreign policy solutions. The practice began with the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, and continued with the Roosevelt Corollary, sometimes called the Roosevelt Doctrine, introduced by Theodore Roosevelt in 1904.


The post–World War II tradition of Presidential doctrines started with the Truman Doctrine in 1947, under which the US provided support to the governments of Greece and Turkey as part of a Cold War strategy to keep both nations out of the Soviet sphere of influence. It was followed by the Eisenhower Doctrine, the Kennedy Doctrine, the Johnson Doctrine, the Nixon Doctrine, and the Carter Doctrine, all of which defined the foreign policy approaches of these respective U.S. presidents on some of the largest global challenges of their presidencies.

End[edit]

The Reagan Doctrine continued into the administration of Reagan's successor, George H. W. Bush, who won the U.S. presidency in November 1988. Bush's presidency featured the final years of the Cold War and the Gulf War, but the Reagan Doctrine soon faded from U.S. policy as the Cold War ended.[36] Bush also noted a presumed peace dividend to the end of the Cold War with economic benefits of a decrease in defense spending. However, following the presidency of Bill Clinton, a change in United States foreign policy was introduced with the presidency of his son George W. Bush and the new Bush Doctrine, who increased military spending in response to the September 11th attacks.


In Nicaragua, the Contra War ended after the Sandinista government, facing military and political pressure, agreed to new elections, in which the contras' political wing participated, in 1990. In Angola, an agreement in 1989 met Savimbi's demand for the removal of Soviet, Cuban and other military troops and advisers from Angola. Also in 1989, in relation to Afghanistan, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev labeled the war against the U.S.-supported mujahideen a "bleeding wound" and ended the Soviet occupation of the country.[37]

, a Golden Globe Award and Oscar-nominated Universal Pictures film released in December 2007, depicts early U.S. efforts to provide military support to the Afghan mujahideen following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Charlie Wilson's War

, a 1987 book by Joan Didion covers U.S. efforts to overthrow communist governments, including that of Fidel Castro in Cuba.

Miami

Kirkpatrick Doctrine

Deterrence theory

Peace through strength

United States-Latin American relations

Project Socrates

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online

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(Second Quarter 1987). "The Lessons of Afghanistan". Policy Review (40): 32–35. ISSN 0146-5945.

Johns, Michael

Johns, Michael. , Heritage Foundation Backgrounder # 692, February 23, 1989.

"A U.S. Strategy to Foster Human Rights in Ethiopia"

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online

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ISBN

Pach, Chester. “The Reagan Doctrine: Principle, Pragmatism, and Policy," Presidential Studies Quarterly (2006) 36#1 p. 75+

online

Rosenfeld, Stephen S. , Foreign Affairs magazine, Spring 1986.

"The Reagan Doctrine: The Guns of July"

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online

Scott, James M. Deciding to intervene: the Reagan doctrine and American foreign policy (1996)

Starr-Deelen, Donna. Presidential Policies on Terrorism: From Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama. (Springer, 2014).

by Honorable Margaret Thatcher, Heritage Foundation Lecture, December 10, 1997.

"The Principles of Conservatism"

by Charles Krauthammer, Heritage Foundation Lecture, June 3, 2002.

"The Ash Heap of History: President Reagan's Westminster Address 20 Years Later"

by Ted Galen Carpenter, Cato Policy Analysis # 74, Cato Institute, June 24, 1986.

"U.S. Aid to Anti-Communist Rebels: The 'Reagan Doctrine' and its Pitfalls"

by John Tirman, The Nation, October 14, 1999.

"How We Ended the Cold War"

The Daily Cougar, August 25, 2008.

"Think Tank Fosters Bloodshed, Terrorism"