Foreign Policy In The Reagan Presidency

In this work, distinguished political figures and journalists who worked closely with Ronald Reagan examine his role in foreign policy. Contents: Preface; Introduction. PART I: PRINCIPLES OF FOREIGN POLICY; Reagan's Foreign Policy Leadership, Sterling Kernek; Reagan and the Realities of Foreign Policy, Paul H. Nitze; Reagan and International Arms Agreements, Caspar Weinberger. PART II: PERSONALITY AND POLICY-MAKING; Reagan as Decisionmaker, John C. Whitehead; Serving Reagan as Negotiator, Max M. Kampelman; Reagan's Leadership: Mystery Man or Ideological Guide? Elliott Abrams. PART III: THE REAGAN STRATEGY: PERSONAL OR INSTITUTIONAL? Administration and Technical Assistance: A.I.D.'s Western Hemisphere Program, Dwight Ink; Reagan as Foreign Policy Strategist, Paul H. Nitze; Reagan's Triumph: Personal or Institutional? Don Oberdorfer. Co-published with the Miller Center of Public Affairs.

An anthology of 40 speeches by President Ronald Reagan, Vice President George Bush, and Secretary of State George Shultz. Taken together they represent a comprehensive accounting of the Reagan administration's foreign policy: the principles on which it is based, its goals and purposes, the plans and programs by which it has been advanced, and the progress it has made toward achieving its goals. The addresses cover each of the regions of the world and the major foreign policy initiatives undertaken by the Reagan administration.

The contributors examine the Reagan administration's foreign policy in light of growing economic and political conflicts among the United States, Western Europe, and Japan, and the surge of political and social struggles in the Third World. Included are detailed analyses of America's relations with the Soviet Union, Western Europe, southern Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, the Philippines, Northeast Asia, and the Middle East, in addition to a comprehensive study of Reagan's foreign-aid policy. The chapters, which assess the intersection between policy pronouncements and Reagan's capacity to realize stated goals, identify constraints that limit and sometimes force modification in the style, if not the substance, of White House foreign policy.

Using a comparative case study method, Scott examines the historical, intellectual, and ideological origins of the Reagan Doctrine as it was applied to Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Mozambique, and Ethiopia. Scott draws on many previously unavailable government documents and a wide range of primary material to show both how this policy in particular, and American foreign policy in general, emerges from the complex, shifting interactions between the White House, Congress, bureaucratic agencies, and groups and individuals from the private sector."--

Essays by seven historians. John Lewis Gaddis argues that Reagan's record of dealing with the Soviets is equal or superior to that of Nixon and Kissinger; Akira Iriye praises the administration for improving relations with Japan; but the essays on Western Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Central America range from tempered to slashing criticism. A consensus on the foreign policy of the Reagan years will be a long time in coming. Foreign Affairs The final curtain having fallen on the administration of the first actor president, historians are now faced with the formidable task of assessing the foreign relations of the Reagan presidency and placing them into a larger historical context. The task of appraising Ronald Reagan as foreign policymaker is difficult because it involves making sense of his apparent inconsistencies. This collection of essays represents the attempts at such an assessment by six distinguished historians of international stature. The contributors address U.S. relations with the Soviet Union, East Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Western Europe, and Africa. They differ markedly in their appraisals. John Lewis Gaddis asserts that Reagan's Soviet policy was not only successful, but was rationally determined and pursued from the outset of his administration. Akira Iriye finds much to admire in the Reagan administration's relations with East Asia, particularly with respect to economic diplomacy. In contrast, Geir Lundestad is far less complimentary about Reagan's relations with Western Europe, and the three scholars who deal with the less-developed areas of the globe offer generally negative appraisals of Reagan's record. Philip S. Khoury argues that the administration further inflamed the volatile Middle East; Susanne Jonas finds Reagan's Central America policy ultimately destructive of U.S. interests in the region; and Robert Rotberg concludes that Reagan's administrators allowed Africa's fundamental racial conflicts and economic difficulties to fester. Together these six scholars draw an overall picture of the U.S. government more consistent in its regional preoccupations than in its ideology. Many aspects of Reagan's foreign relations will require further investigation before they are clear. For the moment, however, this volume offers a sound first historical evaluation of the Reagan administration's foreign relations. It will appeal to historians, political scientists, specialists in international relations, and general readers interested in the United States and the world in the 1980s.

Presidents and Foreign Policy examines countdowns to ten important and controversial decisions in the post-World War II period, using the case study approach. The authors include one major controversy for each president from Truman to Clinton. The cases cover central issues of diplomacy, war and peace, and covert action that shaped the Cold War period and its aftermath in all major areas of the world. After reviewing the historical background of each decision, each case examines the foreign and domestic policy context, the effectiveness of presidential decision-making, and results of the decision. The reader is challenged to think about each decision by responding to a unique evaluation scheme the authors developed and tested.