Analysis of the development of views in the Ronald Reagan administration on use of nonmilitary measures in struggle with the USSR

Dominic Iurie

The purpose of the article is, on the basis of US official documents, to conduct a retrospective analysis of the development of views on the use of non-military instruments in the fight against the USSR during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. Based on the official documents of the United States insufficiently studied in the Russian-language academia, the views of the Reagan administration on the use of non-military measures in the fight against the USSR within the framework of the general policy in the field of US national security are revealed. The documents confirm the course of Reagan's policy to committing the changes of the communist regime in the USSR via integrated use of tools, produced by the national power of the United States, with the obligatory avoidance of armed struggle. It also proves that all military measures were in support of Reagan’s plans to reduce the national power of the opponent, cause internal chaos and force him to accept the imposed will.

Keywords:cold war, Reagan, non-military means, political warfare