Reagan Doctrine

LocationGlobal (primarily United States, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Angola, and Cambodia)IncludingMonroe Doctrine expansion (focused on the anti-communist rollback of Soviet-backed regimes in the Western Hemisphere, such as in Nicaragua and Grenada)Leaders

• William J. Casey
• Jeane Kirkpatrick
• Caspar Weinberger

PresidentRonald ReaganKey events

• Soviet–Afghan War (Covert aid via Operation Cyclone)
• Contra War in Nicaragua
• Support for UNITA in the Angolan Civil War
• Invasion of Grenada (1983)

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

The Reagan Doctrine was a United States foreign policy strategy implemented by the administration of President Ronald Reagan and continued under the George H. W. Bush administration designed to overwhelm the global influence of the Soviet Union during the final years of Cold War. The doctrine was a centerpiece and policy priority of the Reagan administration.

Reagan initially described the doctrine in his State of the Union Address on February 6, 1985, saying: "We must not break faith with those who are risking their lives—on every continent from Afghanistan to Nicaragua—to defy Soviet-supported aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth." The doctrine was a centerpiece of U.S. foreign policy from the early 1980s until the end of the Cold War in 1991.

Under the Reagan Doctrine, the United States provided overt and covert aid to anti-communistguerrillas and resistance movements in an effort to roll back Soviet-backed pro-communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The doctrine was designed to diminish Soviet influence in these regions as part of the administration's overall strategy to win the Cold War.