Reagan Doctrine
The Reagan Doctrine refers to a key aspect of U.S. foreign policy during President Ronald Reagan's administration, aimed at countering the influence of communism globally. Though the term emerged in 1985, its foundation was laid earlier as Reagan continued and expanded upon President Jimmy Carter's policy of supporting anti-Soviet forces, particularly in Afghanistan. The initial approach involved covert operations by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which later extended to countries like Angola and Nicaragua. The policy became publicly acknowledged amid congressional scrutiny and led to significant political controversies, notably the support of the Contras in Nicaragua, culminating in the Iran-Contra affair.
Reagan characterized those receiving U.S. support as "freedom fighters," highlighting a strategic shift in American foreign policy that sought to challenge communist-supported regimes in various regions. Throughout his presidency, Reagan identified several countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, and Nicaragua, as focal points for this anti-communist effort. While the Reagan Doctrine had mixed domestic receptions, it is credited with contributing to changes in governance in several targeted nations and plays a complex role in discussions about the impacts of U.S. foreign intervention, particularly regarding the long-term consequences of supporting groups like the mujahideen in Afghanistan.
Reagan Doctrine
U.S. foreign policy to defeat communist expansion by supporting anticommunist forces in Africa, Asia, and Latin America
This policy of President Ronald Reagan was a significant shift from the strategy of containment of communism that had been the dominant foreign policy of most American administrations since World War II. Some credit the pressure from this policy with the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
Although the term “Reagan Doctrine” was not coined until 1985, the policy of attempting to push back communism was always part of the Ronald Reagan administration’s foreign policy. President Reagan inherited President Jimmy Carter’s policy of actively supporting forces opposing the Soviets and the Soviet-installed government in Afghanistan. Many of Reagan’s conservative allies sought ways of expanding this policy to other locations. Initially, most of the support was handled by covert Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operations, with the second phase being the expansion into Angola and Nicaragua. However, as Congress became aware of this use of the CIA, it began to seek oversight of the operations. After this time, Reagan’s support of anticommunists became part of his public policy.
Politically, the most controversial operation was his support of the Contras against the Sandinista National Liberation Front in Nicaragua. Congress’s rejection of this policy led to the Iran-Contra affair . However, the president was able to survive this political setback and continued to expand the list of countries in which the United States challenged communist-supported governments. Reagan often used the term “freedom fighters” to describe the forces opposing these governments.
In many ways, the Reagan Doctrine reflected the lesson learned by previous administrations: that it was difficult and expensive to defeat insurgent movements seeking to overthrow allied governments in the developing world, while it was relatively inexpensive to support insurgencies. Just as the Soviet Union had supported such movements in earlier decades against American allies, Reagan supported any force he thought capable of defeating the Soviet allies. In 1986, he specifically mentioned the countries of Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, Ethiopia, and Nicaragua as targets of this move against communism.
Impact
While the Reagan Doctrine had some domestic political repercussions, it was relatively successful as a foreign policy. The criticism focused on the facts that the forces supported by the United States did not follow internationally recognized standards of conduct and that most of the conflicts were fairly local in scope without a direct impact on American interests. However, President Reagan viewed the world through the context of the Cold War and acted according to the dictate of opposing all manifestations of communism. During his presidency, or shortly thereafter, all five countries specifically targeted in his 1986 speech showed changes that signaled the defeat of the Soviet Union and its allies. Only Angola did not have a total change of government as a result of this doctrine. In more recent years, the one major criticism of this policy pointed to the administration’s support of the mujahideen in Afghanistan, which led to the Taliban governing that country, with negative repercussions for the United States in the next two decades.
Bibliography
Krauthammer, Charles. "The Reagan Doctrine." Time, 24 June 2001. http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,141478,00.html. Accessed on 30 Nov. 2016.
Lagon, Mark P. The Reagan Doctrine: Sources of American Conduct in the Cold War’s Last Chapter. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1994.
Scott, James M. Deciding to Intervene: The Reagan Doctrine and American Foreign Policy. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1996.