The End of Reagan Era Diplomacy
- Barry Poulson
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
On August 4th, 2025, Russia announced that it would no longer honor the terms of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Treaty marks the end of Reagan era diplomacy. The Treaty was an arms control agreement between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, negotiated by President Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. It was approved and ratified by the Senate in 1988, as required by the Constitution. This was no easy task for President Reagan, who had to negotiate a quid pro quo on the Budget to win Senate approval. For several decades the Treaty was one of the foundations for normalized relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and later with the Russian Federation. Agreement on the INF Treaty set the stage for significant reductions in military spending by both the U.S. and Russia.
Ending the Cold War confrontation between the U.S. and Russia also set the stage for integration of Russia into the global economy. Through both bilateral and multilateral negotiations barriers to trade and investment with Russia were reduced and eliminated. The growth of global trade and investment was accompanied by rapid growth in both countries and in the global economy in the 1990s. This era of prosperity culminated in admission of Russia into the World Trade Organization.
Over the past two decades the U.S. has abandoned Reagan era diplomacy. The turning point was President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the INF Treaty in 2019, claiming that Russia had violated the terms of the Treaty by developing new intermediate range nuclear missiles. Russia responded by withdrawing from the Treaty the following year. The recent announcement by Russia that it would no longer abide by terms of the Treaty is more a public relations stunt. The fact is that neither the U.S. nor Russia have abided by the terms of that Treaty since 2019.
Both the U.S. and Russia have significantly boosted military spending in recent years, and the war in Ukraine has eliminated any vestiges of detent between the two countries. The U.S. has imposed new sanctions on Russia, and on countries that continue to trade with Russia, including our allies. This strategy to create divisions between Russia and other countries, most importantly China, has had a perverse impact, driving these countries to seek closer ties. The recent meeting between President Putin, Chairman Xi, and leaders from other BRIC nations underscores the new geopolitical divisions that have emerged, largely in response to U.S. trade policies.
This abandonment of Reagan era diplomacy has resulted in deglobalization, declining growth in global trade and investment, and retardation of growth in the global economy. Indeed, this decade is beginning to look a lot like the decade of the 70s, with lower rates of economic growth and higher rates of inflation and unemployment.