Reaganandthe‘SecondColdWar’

ImpactoftheAfghanistaninvasiononUSA– Sovietrelations

• Détentewasalreadyclosetobreaking,butAfghanistantotallybrokeit• SomehavearguedthatUSover-reactedonpurposeasanexcusetogetoutof

Détente• Inthe1980USelection,RepublicancandidateRonaldReaganridiculedCarteras

weakandthetimehadcomefortheUSAtoreclaimitspositionontheworldstageandstanduptocommunism.

• Reaganwonalandslidevictory

• USAwasnowmuchmoreaggressivelypreparedtofightagainstthe“evil”ofcommunismandUS– Sovietconfrontationwasnowinevitable,again!

RonaldReagan&the‘SecondColdWar’The‘SecondColdWar’hadreallystartedunderCarterbutwasmuchmoreobviousunderReaganwithhisveryaggressivepolicies.

In1983,ReagancalledSovietUnionan‘evil’empireandtheUSAweretheforcesofgood

Reagan’sPolicies

• 13%morewasspendonthearmedforcesin1982• 8%morein1983and1984

• TridentsubmarinesandStealthBombersweredeveloped

ReaganDoctrine:

• USAwouldnotonlysupportanti-communistgovernmentsbutalsoanti-communistgroupswhoattempttooverthrowcommunistgovernments(eg ElSalvador,Nicaragua,Caribbeanislands

• TheUSAwouldmakethisthefirst‘rollback’ofcommunistinfluencesinceWW2

Reagan’sPolicies

SDI:StrategicDefenceInitiative:

• ReaganknewtheSovieteconomywasstrugglingsoheincreasedspendingandsupportforanticommunists,theSovietswouldhavetofindlargeamountsofmoneytocounterwhichwasimpossible!

‘StarWars’wouldplaceaseriesofsatellitesinorbit.TheywouldcarrypowerfullasersthatcouldshootdownSovietmissilesandpreventthemfromharmingUSA.

Thiswentagainstthetermsofthe1967OuterSpaceTreaty.

Reaganpresentedtotheworldthatthiswasarealitywheninfactthissystemofdefencewasyearsfrombeingready,ithasbeensaidthiswasthebeginningoftheendoftheSovietUnion!

Sovietswereshockedandupset,theyhadspentalotofmoneycatchinguptoUSA,theirweaponswerenowredundantandanewsystemwasneeded,buttheyhadnomoney!They

wouldneeda‘newwayofthinking’…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hGLBA65tZgReagan’sSpeech

ImagineyouarewritingabiographyofPresidentReagan.

Writetheintroductionpageinthebooksummarisinghimandhispolicies,aswellastheimpactofthemonthe

ColdWarworld.