Reagan's legacy in a world transformed

Abstract

Reagan's Legacy in a World Transformed. Ed. by Jeffrey L. Chidester and Paul Kengor. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015. Pp xvi, 229, notes. Cloth, $45.00.)Jeffrey L. Chichester, Director of Policy Programs at University of Virginias Miller Center, and Paul Regnor, Professor of History at Grove City College, have collected twelve scholarly essays dealing mainly with President Ronald foreign policy and its legacy. They also each contributed as essay to volume.The essays are divided into five units: Global Impact of Domestic Policy; Legacy in Global Democracy; Reagans Defense Policy Revisited: The Great Debate; Reagan and Negotiating End of Cold War; and Reagan and Multilateralism.The collection begins with a foreword by Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada from September 1984 to June 1993. He establishes overall tone of this collection by offering essentially a hymn of praise to presidents policy initiatives. He concludes his comments with a ringing endorsement of the golden achievements of era (p. xvi).The essays taken together develop three major themes. First, domestic economic initiatives, especially ones involving defense spending, helped reinforce his foreign policy goals. Second, Reagan's willingness to enter negotiations with USSR on nuclear issues ultimately paved way for agreements that reduced threat of nuclear war. Finally, pragmatism allowed him to deal with somewhat tangential issues, such as relations with United Nations and Law of Seas negotiations.The first three essays agree that Reagan's economic policies both helped nation's economy and speeded up rise of economic globalism. Alfred E. Eckes argues that and Margaret Thatcher's free market rhetoric and actions they took to deregulate and open markets ... brought political drive to globalization (p. 12). He does grant that ultimately American manufacturing jobs were lost in long run during process but that benefits far outweighed costs.The more immediate gains in Reagan's economic policies came in economic during his time in office. What Henry Nau calls the great expansion especially involved massive increase in military spending (p. 24). Although this led to increased budget deficits, it also was instrumental in pressuring Soviets. (Interestingly, himself regretted deficits but blamed Congress for not cutting spending in non-military areas. …