Ronald Reagan: The Peacemaker

Led by Professor William Inboden, former National Security Council official and author of the new history, The Peacemaker, this four-week course will examine how Ronald Reagan and his national security team confronted the Soviet Union, reduced the nuclear threat, won the Cold War, and supported the spread of freedom around the world.

Even as Reagan waged the Cold War, his administration faced multiple competing foreign policy crises — from the emergence of global terrorism to wars in the Middle East, the rise of Japan, the awakening of China, and proxy conflicts in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. In studying how Reagan and his administration tackled these challenges, fellows will gain a stronger understanding of presidential leadership and how the pivotal decade of the 1980s shaped our world today.

Will Inboden & H.R. McMaster on Reagan

This course will meet for four sessions via Zoom weekly on Tuesdays, from 5 to 7 PM ET. All course materials will be provided.

Faculty

William Inboden

William Inboden is Executive Director and William Powers, Jr. Chair at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas-Austin. Previously he served as Senior Director for Strategic Planning on the National Security Council at the White House.

William Inboden

William Inboden is Executive Director and William Powers, Jr. Chair at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas-Austin. He also serves as Associate Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, Distinguished Scholar at the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law, and Editor-in-Chief of the Texas National Security Review. Inboden’s other current roles include Associate with the National Intelligence Council, member of the CIA’s Historical Advisory Panel, member of the State Department’s Historical Advisory Council, Senior Fellow with the Trinity Forum, Steering Committee for the Reagan Institute Strategy Group, and member of the Advisory Board for the Vandenberg Coalition. Previously he served as Senior Director for Strategic Planning on the National Security Council at the White House, where he worked on a range of foreign policy issues including the National Security Strategy, strategic forecasting, democracy and governance, contingency planning, counter-radicalization, and multilateral institutions and initiatives. Inboden also worked at the Department of State as a Member of the Policy Planning Staff and a Special Advisor in the Office of International Religious Freedom, and has worked as a staff member in both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives.

Inboden has also served as head of the London-based Legatum Institute, and as a Civitas Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and his commentary has appeared in numerous outlets including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Politico, The Hill, World, Weekly Standard, NPR, CNN, and BBC. He has lectured widely in academic and policy settings, testified before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee and the US Congress Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and received numerous research and professional development fellowships. Inboden is the author of Religion and American Foreign Policy, 1945-1960: The Soul of Containment (Cambridge University Press), co-editor of The Last Card: Inside George W. Bush’s Decision to Surge in Iraq (Cornell University Press), co-editor of Hand-Off: The Foreign Policy That George W. Bush Bequeathed to Barack Obama (Brookings Institution Press), and has published numerous articles and book chapters on national security, American foreign policy, and American history. His book on the Reagan Administration’s national security policy, titled The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, The Cold War, and the World on the Brink, is forthcoming in November, 2022 with Dutton, a Penguin Random House imprint.

Professor Inboden has received multiple teaching awards including recognition as a “Texas 10” by the Texas Exes Alumni Association, selection as “Lecturer of the Year” at the LBJ School, and his classes Presidential Decision-making in National Security and Ethics and International Affairs have been voted as “Best Class in the LBJ School” and “Class Most Likely to Challenge Your Assumptions.” Inboden received his Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in history from Yale University, and his A.B. in history with honors from Stanford University. He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and two sons, and is a member of Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

Preview the Syllabus by Week/Session

A Crusade for Freedom: Redefining the Cold War

Readings:

Inboden, The Peacemaker, pp. 1–186
Watch or read: Reagan, Westminster Address, June 8, 1982, Watch here

Reading Questions & Writing Prompts:

What were the main features of Reagan’s Cold War strategy, and in what ways did it depart from past presidencies? [Assume the role of National Security Advisor Bill Clark. You are going to appear on “Meet the Press“ in May 1982 to describe Reagan’s Cold War strategy. Write out your opening statement of no more than 500 words.]
If “personnel is policy,” what personnel picks did Reagan get right and get wrong in his first 18 months as president? [Write a candid one-page memo to President Reagan from the Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office in January 1982 evaluating his main Cabinet secretaries and advisors.]
Did Reagan change or evolve during his first 18 months in office on the question of promoting democracy and human rights? [Write a short op-ed to be published on June 15, 1982 arguing for whether you think the Westminster Address marked a significant change in policy or not.]

The Pivotal Year

Readings:

Inboden, The Peacemaker, pp. 187–290
Watch or read: Reagan, “Evil Empire” Speech, March 8, 1983, Watch here
Watch or read: Reagan, “Strategic Defense Initiative” Speech, March 23, 1983, Watch here

Reading Questions & Writing Prompts:

Who were the multiple audiences for Reagan’s speeches? [Assume the role of a Polish Solidarity activist who has just listened to Reagan’s “Evil Empire” speech on Voice of America. Write a letter to President Reagan telling him what you think of the speech.]
What was notable about Reagan’s approach to nuclear weapons, especially SDI and the INF deployments? [Assume the role of the KGB Rezident in Washington, DC in December 1983, and write a one-page memo to Moscow Center describing Reagan’s nuclear doctrine.]
Which doctrine is more correct on the use of force, the Shultz Doctrine or the Weinberger Doctrine? [For two writers: Write opposing memos to British PM Margaret Thatcher, summarizing and evaluating both doctrines.]

Waiting for Gorbachev

Readings:

Inboden, The Peacemaker, pp. 290–424
Watch or read: Reagan, “Boys of Pointe du Hoc” Speech, June 6, 1984, Watch here.

Reading Questions & Writing Prompts:

What role did allies play in Reagan’s overall worldview and foreign policy? [Assume the role of an advisor to newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in December 1984. Write him a one-page memo describing how US President Ronald Reagan views allies.]
What were the main features of Reagan’s Asia strategy? [Assume the role of a civilian advisor to the PACOM Commander based in Honolulu in 1984. Write a one-page memo to the Commander outlining the features of Reagan Administration’s Asia-Pacific posture.]
Was Gorbachev a genuine reformer? [For two writers: Write opposing memos to President Reagan in November 1986 arguing for and against the proposition that “Gorbachev can be trusted as a genuine reformer and partner for peace.”]

Winning the Peace

Readings:

Inboden, The Peacemaker, pp. 424–479
Watch or read: Reagan, Berlin Wall Speech, June 12, 1987, Watch here
Watch or read: Reagan, Moscow State University Speech, May 31, 1988, Watch here
Mike Gallagher, “The Lost Art of Ideological Warfare,” July 2019
Henry Kissinger, Keynote Speech Commemorating Reagan’s 112^th Birthday, February 6, 2023

Reading Questions & Writing Prompts:

Did Reagan’s staff have good reasons to oppose including the phrase “Tear Down This Wall” in his iconic speech? What was the strategic significance of the speech? [For two writers: Assume the role of an NSC staff member. Write opposing one-page memos to President Reagan on June 10, 1987 explaining why he should – or should not – say “Tear Down this Wall” in his Brandenburg Gate speech.]
What does the INF Treaty reveal about the integration of force and diplomacy, and the conduct of coercive diplomacy? [Assume the role of President Reagan, who was a devoted daily diarist. Write a diary entry from the day that you signed the INF Treaty, reflecting on how you succeeded six years after first announcing the “zero option.”]
If the United States won the “battle of ideas” in the Cold War, why in the year 2023 do Moscow and Beijing think and act otherwise? [Assume the role of a senior advisor to Xi Jinping, and write him a one-page memo on the lessons from the end of the Cold War for the Chinese Communist Party today.]

Alumni Spotlight

Caleb Orr

Caleb Orr completed his degree at Abilene Christian University while also serving as an intern and later legislative correspondent in the office of Senator Marco Rubio. Caleb participated in Hertog’s “Great Figures of the 20th Century” Weekend Seminars series, with sessions on Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and David Ben-Gurion.

“Hertog Foundation programs bring the kind of education that you expect at an elite university, combined with a grounding in the civilizational values that America was founded on and made us able to produce freedom, order, and prosperity. As a result of that, students are able to come together in an environment where you’re with many smart people from different fields and learn from one another.”

Caleb Orr

Current Position:

Policy Advisor, Office of Senator Marco Rubio
Past:

Office of Congressman Ralph Hall
Education:

Abilene Christian University

TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR CAREER PATH. HOW DOES HERTOG FIT IN TO YOUR PROFESSIONAL GOALS?

Working on Capitol Hill is all about keeping in touch with what other members of Congress are doing and partnering with them based on their expertise and abilities. So getting to know other Hill staff from Hertog, but also people in the think-tank community has been very helpful in connecting me to those resources and being able to serve Senator Rubio better as a staffer.

DO YOU THINK HERTOG PROGRAMS ARE BENEFICIAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED IN PUBLIC POLICY AND LEGISLATION?

One-hundred percent. It’s a great entryway into the world of DC. Hertog programs provide access points into Capitol Hill and the academic community in ways that you don’t get at universities across America.

WHAT STICKS OUT IN YOUR MEMORY ABOUT YOUR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE WITH HERTOG PROGRAMS?

With the Weekend Seminars, the Foundation brought in some of the most well-known experts to lead seminars about each of these leaders. The ability to really have an intensive session over a weekend where you’re spending time with these scholars—in an academic setting, but also over dinner or drinks—really allowed you to get to know them as people, which made them all the more effective in conveying the subject matter. It was interesting to take that much of a deep dive into world leaders. To explore all the ins and outs, both the good and the bad of their characters, was helpful in seeing how the same traits that produce epic achievements can also lead to moral failures.

OVERALL, WHAT WAS YOUR IMPRESSION OF HERTOG PROGRAMS?

Hertog Foundation programs bring the kind of education that you expect at an elite university, combined with a grounding in the civilizational values that America was founded on and made us able to produce freedom, order, and prosperity. As a result of that, students are able to come together in an environment where you’re with many smart people from different fields and learn from one another.

It really is remarkable how vibrant the alumni community is and how much I’ve stayed in contact with people I met at Hertog. I think that’s unique, even when compared to other DC fellowship programs I’ve done. In fact, I’ve started to meet up with two other Hertog alumni about every other week to get steak dinners and just talk politics.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS? IN A SIMILAR JOB, OR EMBARKING ON SOMETHING DIFFERENT?

I want to be promoting the kind of human flourishing that I learned about at Hertog – ordered liberty, the American family, and American leadership. I want to be working for the first “reformicon” president in the White House.