Summary
Highlights
Following the Cold War, new diplomatic efforts emerged. The START I and START II treaties significantly reduced the number of nuclear warheads held by the US and Russia. Additionally, the US provided funds to Russia to aid its unstable economy after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Ronald Reagan, though out of office by the Cold War's official end, significantly contributed to its conclusion through four main strategies: speeches, diplomatic efforts, limited military interventions, and a dramatic buildup of nuclear and conventional weapons.
Reagan used speeches to condemn the Soviet Union, famously calling it an 'evil empire.' Simultaneously, he engaged in diplomatic efforts with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, whose reforms of Glasnost (political freedom) and Perestroika (limited free-market practices) eased tensions. Notable outcomes included the INF agreement to destroy intermediate-range missiles and Gorbachev's commitment to withdraw Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
Reagan's doctrine supported anti-communist regimes globally. This led to funding the Contras in Nicaragua against the communist Sandinista government. The illegal Iran-Contra affair involved selling weapons to Iran (then at war with Iraq) and using the funds to support the Contras, bypassing Congressional authority. While several convictions resulted, Reagan was not directly implicated, leading critics to dub him the 'Teflon President.'
Reagan dramatically increased the US defense budget, creating new weapons like the B1 bomber and MX missile, and expanding the Navy. His most famous initiative was the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), nicknamed 'Star Wars,' aiming to use satellite-based lasers to shoot down enemy missiles.
Though Reagan left office before the Cold War ended, his successor George H.W. Bush oversaw its conclusion. Internal challenges and Gorbachev's decision to reduce Soviet influence led to the fall of communist governments in Eastern Europe, symbolized by the tearing down of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The Soviet Union itself collapsed in 1991, marking the official end of the Cold War.