Did Reagan Make Gorbachev Possible Analysis

Reagan believed that Eat-West relations would improve if he could make the Soviet Union share his fear of a nuclear doomsday. Surprisingly Reagan's rhetoric did not stop negotiations. By his second term, Reagan had opened an East-West dialogue of a scope and intensity not seen since the era of détente under Nixon (Kissinger 769). This time however, Reagan had the public support that Nixon had so desperately needed and wanted.

In order for Reagan to succeed, [Reagan] used patience and negotiation to end the Cold War. During Reagan's presidency four USSR leaders attempted to negotiate with Reagan (“Children’s”). Reagan increased pressure on the arms race and waited until a deal could be settled that did not compromise the American people. After forty years the Iron Curtain fell, and the new deal settled the “superpowers first agreement to reduce nuclear weapons” (“Children’s”). The fall of the USSR was significant because it liberated millions of people living the impoverished lifestyle of communism. While modern-day Russia does not have a perfect government the end of the Cold War significantly made the world closer to ending

She claims that “he saw the many sides of the truth.” Reagan saw the Soviet Union’s prominent desire for military power and territorial expansion, but also “sensed that it was being eaten away by systemic failures.” In addition, he “realized that a man of good will might...emerge” from Moscow’s evil empire. Thatcher mentions the Cold War by exemplifying that Reagan possessed an awareness for realizing the hidden truths under chaotic circumstances. By showcasing Reagan’s capabilities during a demanding event such as the Cold War, Thatcher develops a positive image of Reagan for Americans citizens to fondly remember, but to also give recognition to President Reagan’s aptitude. When displaying Reagan’s great intuition when it came to politics, Thatcher stresses that he held aptitude for his position leading a grand country that felt weakened. Ronald Reagan successfully fostered America through tough times with strength and

Reagan became president in 1981, which means that he was president of the U.S. during a time in which the Cold War began to draw to a close. (Fischer, 1997, p.477). Whereas his predecessors used détente, a more relaxed approach in order to reduce tension between the U.S. and USSR, Reagan and his advisers rejected this strategy (Authors, People and a Nation, p.833). This led to a turning point in the Cold War. Even though the Cold War ended in 1991, two years after Reagan’s presidency, Reagan is still known to have made a huge influence on ending the Cold War. This essay will investigate his actions and how they might have influenced the ending of the Cold War, by looking at how Reagan expressed his distrust toward the Soviet Union and communism, the ways in which Reagan expanded the arms race in order to bankrupt the USSR and other ways in which he tried to sabotage the Soviet economy, but also

In a time of political chaos, numerous approaches to contending with the USSR were offered by various politicians, yet “the man who got things right from the start was, at first glance, an unlikely statesman… Through a combination of vision, tenacity, patience, and improvisational skill, he produced what Henry Kissinger terms ‘the most stunning diplomatic feat of the modern era…’ As Margaret Thatcher put it, ‘Ronald Reagan won the Cold War without firing a shot’” (D’Souza). Henry Kissinger was an “old nemesis” of Reagan, yet even he “observed that while it was Bush who presided over the final disintegration of the Soviet empire, ‘it was Ronald Reagan's Presidency which marked the turning point.’ [Additionally,] Cardinal Casaroli, the Vatican secretary of state, remarked publicly that the Reagan military buildup, which he had opposed at the time, had led to the collapse of Communism” (D’Souza). The great quantity of figures who have acknowledged the intelligence Reagan’s actions validates these actions as such. Many democratic opponents argued that “the West should ingratiate itself with the Soviet Union by pursuing ‘the stuffed-goose option—that is, providing them with all the grain and consumer goods they need.’ If Reagan had taken this advice when it was offered in 1982, the Soviet empire

Mikhail Gorbachev is a foreign leader who worked with Reagan and also wanted to eliminate communism. If the Soviet Union collapsed, then all influences of communism would stop, which is what Reagan and Gorbachev wanted (Marsico, 84). The nation as a whole agreed that they did not want communism to spread beyond the borders of East Germany and seep into their culture. During the span of 1985-1988 five meetings between the Americans and the Communists negotiated issues of diplomacy. By the early 1980’s the Soviets had built up weaponry which was almost comparable to America’s weaponry, but as the decade went on the Soviets were unable to keep up (Marsico, 84). This inferiority pleased the American people. By 1991 the cold war had concluded. on June 12, 1987, Reagan asked Gorbachev helped to eliminate the oppressive influence that communism had outside of the soviet union (Marsico 85-86). He wanted to stop the influences so that communism would not spread any further than it already had. Standing beside the berlin wall, which separated East and West Germany, Reagan gave a speech which reminded every one of the differences between the two sides. General Secretary Gorbachev” Reagan challenged him, “if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the soviet union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate, Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this wall!”

One of Reagan’s main concerns was the Soviet Union. Reagan stated, “The march of freedom and democracy...will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash heap of history ...”12 All through his term he worked to collapse the Union, to end the Cold War, and to tear down the Berlin Wall. Margaret Thatcher commented that “Ronald Reagan won the Cold War without firing a shot”.10 Reagan set up the collapse of the Soviet Union in a couple of ways. First, he put more funds into the U.S. military, forcing the Soviets to do the same.11 second, he was confident that the U.S.S.R was crumbling and failing even when those around him believed that Communism was strong. Third, he was not intimidated by the Soviets and, while he respectfully met and listened to Gorbachev, he was not wavering and was determined. Even though many factors contributed to the fall of Communism, Reagan sped the process up and the Union officially fell apart in

Despite the increase of defense projects and counter-Soviet initiatives, Reagan did desire for negotiation and improve relations between Washington and Kremlin (Rossinow, 224). Soon afterward, during his second term, Reagan held meetings with leader Mikhail Gorbachev, with whom he negotiated a treaty to eliminate a range of nuclear weapons. Between the two men was a forged relationship- as a partnership, as friends. Reagan, surprisingly, even suggested that both powers should do what they can to ensure that such weapons entirely removed from the world (Rossinow, 232)- although the proposal 's implementation did not work, it still did prove interestingly of Reagan 's thinking to establish disarmament, even if it never happened. Nonetheless, ending the war after so many decades of tension was a monumental triumph for the US and American policy.

Yet by the end of his second term, Ronald Reagan has decided to change his view on the Evil Empire and to have a fresh start. President Reagan has never supported communism, he was even the leader who was leading the anti-communist movement worldwide. From the beginning of his presidency, Reagan had an enormous distrust on the Soviet Union. In 1983, in one of his famous presidential speeches, he denounced the Soviet Union as an ‘evil empire’, in fact ‘the focus of evil in the modern world’. After long term of unpleasant relations two great powers have decided to move forward with the current days issues like

ending of the cold war. It has been said that President Ronald Reagan ended the

This address was given while Congress was debating a resolution in support of a "nuclear freeze," a doctrine supported by the Soviet Union that would have prevented the deployment of U.S. cruise and Pershing II Missiles in Europe. 1 In this speech, Reagan referred to the Soviet Union as “focus of evil in the modern world,” asking that Americans to pray for the salvation of those living in totalitarian darkness.

"In The 1950's, Khrushchev predicted: ‘We will bury you.’ But in the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history.” Saying this Reagan was able to show how a communist leader thought they would be better off than a democracy, but that clearly wasn’t the case with the struggling communist ruled, East Berlin. During this speech he also mentions the Soviet Union on how they believe they are reforming their current political society. "We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of reform and openness. Some political prisoners have been released. Certain foreign news broadcasts are no longer being jammed. Some economic enterprises have been permitted to operate with greater freedom from state control." By showing a side from the communists, he is able to directly call out the other main political influence that was present in Berlin, which made gave his claims more credibility by showing these

‘The Regan Reversal’ by Beth Fisher is one of the most intriguing political science works on the events leading to the end of the Cold War. In her book, ‘The Regan Reversal’, Fisher analyzes the shift from Regan’s hardline approach towards the Soviet Union to a call for dialogue and cooperation. Reagan looked, acted, and talked like an anticommunist, but in 1984, his stance marked a new period for United States and Soviet Union’s relationtions. Fisher’s work sheds a light on this period of transition and dialogue between Ronald Regan and Mikhail Gorbachev.

This essay will focus on the Reagan Administration which spanned from January 1981 to January 1989. When Reagan became President, he had only one clear, defined foreign policy goal – containment of the Soviet Union, or the “evil empire” as he referred to it. He primarily wanted to stop the USSR from growing larger and to keep other non-Communist countries from becoming Communist. In the past, American presidents had used a theory called the “Domino Theory” to justify the need for intervention around

In the minds of many Americans Ronald Reagan is the president that ended the Cold War, but is this view accurate? They claim Reagan's unprecedented military spending forced the Soviets to crumble. However, many critics of the president's outspending theory claim that the Russian economy would have imploded without such spending, and a military buildup of that kind did nothing but delay peace. Although, Reagan's willingness to negotiate was a clear factor in ending the Cold War, his aggressive arms race may have done more to forestall peace than abet it. The ascendance of Mikhail Gorbachev to power, the stagnating economy of Russia, and the personal friendship forged between Gorbachev and Reagan were the clear factors that contributed to