The Reagan Administration, the Cold War, and the Transition to Democracy Promotion

Description

This book posits that democracy promotion played a key role in the Reagan administration’s Cold War foreign policy. It analyzes the democracy initiatives launched under Reagan and the role of administration officials, neoconservatives and non-state actors, such as the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), in shaping a new model of democracy promotion, characterized by aid to foreign political movements and the spread of neoliberal economics. The book discusses the ideological, strategic and organizational aspects of U.S. democracy promotion in the 1980s, then analyzes case studies of democracy promotion in the Soviet bloc and in U.S.-allied dictatorships in Latin America and East Asia, and, finally, reflects on the legacy of Reagan’s democracy promotion and its influence on Clinton, Bush and Obama. Based on new research and archival documents, this book shows that the development of democracy promotion under Reagan laid the foundations for US post-Cold War foreign policy. Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Introduction: The Reagan Administration and Democracy Promotion (Robert Pee, William Michael Schmidli)....Pages 1-28 Front Matter ....Pages 29-29 “A Positive Track of Human Rights Policy”: Elliott Abrams, the Human Rights Bureau, and the Conceptualization of Democracy Promotion, 1981–1984 (Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard)....Pages 31-50 The Rise of Political Aid: The National Endowment for Democracy and the Reagan Administration’s Cold War Strategy (Robert Pee)....Pages 51-73 Recreating the Cold War Consensus: Democracy Promotion and the Crisis of American Hegemony (William Michael Schmidli)....Pages 75-92 Front Matter ....Pages 93-93 The Reagan Administration’s Efforts to Promote Human Rights and Democracy in the Soviet Union (Christian Philip Peterson)....Pages 95-114 The Autonomy of Solidarity (Gregory F. Domber)....Pages 115-136 Neoliberalism and Democracy Promotion: Hernando de Soto and US Foreign Policy (Kate Geoghegan)....Pages 137-159 Front Matter ....Pages 161-161 US Electoral Assistance to El Salvador and the Culture of Politics, 1982–1984 (Evan D. McCormick)....Pages 163-188 Reagan and the Waning Years of Uruguay’s Military Rule: Democracy Promotion and the Redefinition of Human Rights (Debbie Sharnak)....Pages 189-207 The Pivot: Neoconservatives, the Philippines, and the Democracy Agenda (Mattias Fibiger)....Pages 209-230 Stable Imperatives, Shifting Strategies: Reagan and Democracy Promotion in the Republic of Korea (Clint Work)....Pages 231-251 Front Matter ....Pages 253-253 “The Most Deeply Honorable Form of Government Ever Devised by Man”: Reagan, Human Rights, and Democracy (Joe Renouard)....Pages 255-275 Conclusion (Robert Pee, William Michael Schmidli)....Pages 277-301 Back Matter ....Pages 303-336