Reagan and the World: Leadership and National Security, 1981–1989 (Studies In Conflict Diplomacy Peace)

Throughout his presidency, Ronald Reagan sought "peace through strength" during an era of historic change. In the decades since, pundits and scholars have argued over the president's legacy: some consider Reagan a charismatic and consummate leader who renewed American strength and defeated communism. To others he was an ambitious and dangerous warmonger whose presidency was plagued with mismanagement, misconduct, and foreign policy failures. The recent declassification of Reagan administration records and the availability of new Soviet documents has created an opportunity for more nuanced, complex, and compelling analyses of this pivotal period in international affairs. In Reagan and the World , leading scholars and national security professionals offer fresh interpretations of the fortieth president's influence on American foreign policy. This collection addresses Reagan's management of the US national security establishment as well as the influence of Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and others in the administration and Congress. The contributors present in-depth explorations of US-Soviet relations and American policy toward Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. This balanced and sophisticated examination reveals the complexity of Reagan's foreign policy, clarifies the importance of other international actors of the period, and provides new perspectives on the final decade of the Cold War. Introduction / Bradley Lynn Coleman and Kyle Longley Part I. Ronald Reagan and the national security establishment Ronald Reagan's engagement and the Cold War / James Graham Wilson A question of morality: Ronald Reagan and nuclear weapons / Beth A. Fischer Beyond Cap the foil: Caspar Weinberger and the Reagan-era defense buildup / Ronald J. Granieri Transformative leadership on Capitol Hill: the Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reorganization Act / James R. Locher III Part II. The Soviet Union and Europe Gorbachev, Perestroika, and the end of the Cold War / Archie Brown For better and for worse: Ronald Reagan's relationship with Margaret Thatcher, 1981-1983 / James Cooper The sense of history: Ronald Reagan and François Mitterrand / William I. Hitchcock Navigating choppy waters: US-German relations during the last decade of the Cold War / David F. Patton Part III. Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East Ronald Reagan and the puzzles of "so-called Communist China" and Vietnam / Michael Schaller An obsession: the Central American policy of the Reagan Administration / Kyle Longley Toward an ecological frontier: environmental policy, economic development, and US-Mexican relations during the Reagan presidency / Evan R. Ward Stranger in a dangerous land: Reagan and Lebanon, 1981-1984 / Charles F. Brower IV Researching Reagan: a guide for scholars of national security policy during the Ronald Reagan presidency / Ryan Carpenter. Pundits and scholars alike have argued over President Ronald Reagan's legacy. Many consider him a charismatic, consummate leader who renewed American strength and defeated communism. To others he was an ambitious and dangerous warmonger whose presidency was plagued with mismanagement, misconduct, and foreign policy failures. The recent declassification of Reagan administration records and the availability of new Soviet documents have created an opportunity for more nuanced, complex, and compelling analyses of this pivotal period in international affairs. In Reagan and the World, leading scholars and national security professionals offer fresh interpretations of the fortieth president's influence on American foreign policy. This collection addresses Regan's management of the US national security establishment during the 1980s as well as the influence of Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and others in the administration and Congress. The contributors present in-depth explorations of US-Soviet relations and American policy toward Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. This balanced and sophisticated volume reveals the complexity of President Reagan's foreign policy, clarifies the importance of other international actors of the period, and provides new perspectives on the final decade of the Cold War. -- Back cover. Front cover -- Copyright -- Contents -- Foreword -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1 Ronald Reagan's Engagement and the Cold War -- 2 A Question of Morality -- 3 Beyond Cap the Foil -- 4 Transformative Leadership on Capitol Hill -- 5 Gorbachev, Perestroika, and the End of the Cold War -- 6 For Better and for Worse -- 7 The Sense of History -- 8 Navigating Choppy Waters -- 9 Ronald Reagan and the Puzzles of "So-Called Communist China" and Vietnam -- 10 An Obsession -- 11 Toward an Ecological Frontier -- 12 Stranger in a Dangerous Land -- 13 Researching Reagan -- Contributors -- Index