Discussion 4
Watch -
The Cold War: 1917 - 1991 - Documentary
on YouTube. It lasts
28:38 minutes.
The Berlin Wall came down in 1989. President Reagan's National Security
policies played a major role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Which of the
Instruments of Power (Diplomatic, Economic, Military & Information) do you
think played the biggest role in the collapse? Why?
Although I believe that all four instruments of power played a role in the
collapse of the Soviet Union, the on that I think had the biggest impact would
be economics and military. The Soviet Unions government was falling apart
because their economy was crippling, which led to them not being able to
provide for their people (
The Cold War: 1917 - 1991 - Documentary).
This
was due to the fact that they were spending money to grow their military
defense and keep up with U.S. who would advance their military to get a
reaction out of the Soviet Union.
The U.S targeted their defense initiative towards the Soviet Union not being
able to attack. The defense initiative was presented by President Reagan, it
was known as "Star Wars" (
The Cold War: 1917 - 1991 - Documentary).
The
goal behind this strategy was that the U.S would outspend the Soviet Unions
military, this would cause them to continue to spend money on their military
to keep up. With them continuing to spend money it caused their economy to
drop significantly.
References
The Cold War: 1917 - 1991 - Documentary
. (2018, September 10). YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTu9JkxiOtU
