It is unsurprising that the Hoover Institution at Stanford University is fully supportive of Reaganite claims to ending the Cold War, a transcript of a programme entitled Reagan’s War: Who won the Cold War interviews three leading Stanford academics who are all agreed about Reagan’s essential contribution to ending the Cold War. Leading academics of the period also state that Reagan was the first person in the White House to encourage a softening in attitude towards the USSR and Communism both in his public speeches and press releases.
Reasons for the Ending of the Cold War
However, there are many aspects leading to the ending of the Cold War some of which are listed here:
- European detente headed by Germany and France and leading to individual trade agreements from 1969 onwards;
- Gradual relaxation from the Kremlin towards its satellite Warsaw Pact states;
- The triumphant return of the Pope to his native Poland in 1979 and the support of the mainly Catholic citizens which has been classed as leading to the creation of the Solidarity movement and subsequent turmoil in Poland;
- The impacts of the Chernobyl disaster and world opinion about Soviet technology;
- Economically the IMF loans to Eastern bloc countries leading to massive debt and virtual third world economic status;
- The growing anti nuclear movements in Europe leading to fears of Finlandization;
- Gorbachev's pioneering reforms of the Soviet Union both internally and internationally.
Furthermore the development of the Third World with 96 countries gaining independence from 1943 to 1989 was a further factor in ending the Cold War and contributing to the decline of American hegemony. The newly independent nations formed a non-aligned movement to challenge Cold War politics and become a formidable block in the United Nations and other world forums.
Justification for Reagan's Claim for being Instrumental in Ending the Cold War
Certainly Reagan’s greatest claim towards ending the Cold War is in the hard line attitude he displayed towards the USSR on adopting the Presidency followed by the ease with which he changed this attitude once a more reasonable Soviet leader was in power. Initially, instigating the dramatic meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, at which they negotiated the INF treaty which culminated in the abolition of intermediate-range nuclear missiles, thus abating the fears of nuclear war held by many across the globe.
In conclusion, whilst it cannot be categorically stated that Reagan’s policies led to the ending of the Cold War, it is certainly true that his speedy acceptance of Gorbachev’s overtures and simple morality led to a resumption of the abandoned arms control talks. His speeches were also inspirational to eastern bloc modernising influences such as Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel and many Russian intellectuals.
Did Anyone Win the Cold War?
Finally, according to historian Thomas Paterson, the “Cold War actually had no winners. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had spent themselves into weakened conditions and were in a state of decline and collapse”.
See also: Historians View of the Cold War, for a discussion of the way in which the Cold War has been interpreted by historians
Sources:
Thomas G Paterson, On Every Front (rev ed) - The making and Unmaking of the Cold War, (WW Norton & Co 1992).
Dawn Denmar - Studying for a BA in Journalism and History, Dawn's innate curiosity about life has led to articles covering a range of topics and ...
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