The Cold War: Nixon, Reagan and Gorbachev
Presidential administrations from Nixon through Reagan worked during a difficult period of the Cold War and military tensions around the world. Nixon is known by his policy of detente, when the Nixon-Kissinger approach to the Cold War kept the arms race under control in order not to escalate it into a war with the Soviets. However, the Reagan presidency signaled a dramatic shift towards aggressive rhetoric. However, it was placated by Gorbachev’s peacemaking attempts. While Nixon was more considerate and lenient in regard to the Soviets, both Nixon and Reagan did their best not to start a war with the Communist world https://gold-essays.com/write-my-essay-outline.html
Nixon made agreements with the Soviet premier Brezhnev to dial down their arms race (MacMillan). Also, the communist world divided, and there was a rift between the Soviets and China. Therefore, during the Nixon presidency America got a chance to improve its relations with China. Being aware of the state’s ability to exert the world dominance, Nixon made a choice to make friends rather than enemies with China. His meeting with Mao was crucial for the US-China relations and turned out very effective. It affected human rights in China, improved economic relations between the countries by getting China’s investments, but what is more important, it changed the balance of forces in the Cold War.
In contrast to the Nixon-Kissinger approach to the Cold War, Reagan intended to make his administration much tougher regarding the Cold War and relationships with the Soviet Union. During the Reagan presidency the arms race was drastically intensified. He intended to show the Soviets that America was no longer afraid of them and is ready to step up its game. The general atmosphere was that the Soviets were allowed to develop their nuclear potential with no problem during the Nixon presidency, so Reagan was adamant to correct it. He was firm in his negotiations with the Soviet Union and took an anti-Communist approach. During the Reagan presidency long-range missiles were produced and arrangements were made to deploy these missiles in the Western Europe. As a result, the arms industry grew stronger and more affluent.
However, the increased arms race did not automatically mean that the American influence had significantly grown in the world. The US had an influence, but it was not as radical as Reagan expected. It became evident during the Polish crisis of 1981, when the Soviet administration had the Polish trade union destroyed, and Reagan could do nothing about it because he could not start a war against the Soviets. Neither could he influence the NATO to impose economic sanctions on the Soviets, whereas American economic sanctions did not give the desired effect, and the Soviets retained its control over Poland (New York Times).
Eventually, the American administration realized that the policy of detention is the wisest in relation to the Soviet Union. In his 1984 address, Secretary of Defense, Caspar W. Weinberger, says that the US cannot refrain from settling world conflicts, however the country should choose what to conflicts to settle wisely and with consideration. Upon seeing the US restrain and experiencing the weakening of the communist forces, the Soviet Union demonstrated a relaxation of its arms race. However, it is more to the credit of Gorbachev, who consistently advocated disarmament, than Reagan, who often hesitated. In 1987, Reagan and Gorbachev signed a treaty to eliminate a small part of nuclear arms of both countries. An eventual wrap up of the Cold War was also signaled by the tearing down of the Berlin Wall in 1987.
The most important decision of the Nixon presidency was the improvement of the US-China relations, but it was marred by Nixon’s inability to finish the Vietnam War quickly; it was significantly aggravated by the invasion of Cambodia and the strengthening of the Khmer Rouge. Meanwhile, Reagan’s most effective decision was the final nuclear negotiations with Gorbachev while his most ineffective decision included the deployment of the American troops in Lebanon, which resulted in horrific casualties. Overall, the improvement of the climate in Europe and the crushing of Communism had eventually led to the tumbling down of the Berlin Wall, as a symbol of the cooperation between the East and West. The decisions made by administrations from Nixon through Reagan were ineffective in reference to the Vietnam War and, eventually, favorable in reference to the wrapping up of the Cold War.
