Current Events and American DiplomacyJoseph D. WilliamsProfessor Tracy HermanPOL 300 International IssuesAugust 17, 2016The Reagan DoctrineThe definition of the term “doctrine” is “An authorized statement of government policy, esp. in overseas concerns and military strategy” (“Doctrine,” nd). The term presidential doctrine refers to an ideological platform that a president uses to disseminate policy toward a country or region in order to achieve the foreign policy goals of the United States. Presidents like James Monroe, Harry S. Truman and Richard Nixon, etc. articulated their policies, but among these executive doctrines, that of President Reagan is significant. The Reagan Diplomatic Doctrine, known to all as Reagan's foreign policy intention was to eliminate the Soviet Union's efforts to prolong its dominance and from that point on he opted to formulate his doctrine to helping rebels in various countries around the world who were trying to overthrow Soviet regimes (Carpenter, 1986). In this regard, it is worth mentioning that unlike the Cold War doctrine of "inclusion", Reagan's doctrine provided for "American moral and material support for rebel actions aimed at ousting Soviet-backed regimes." in various third world nations” (Carpenter, 1986). Furthermore, it must be said that the Reagan Doctrine arose because the American administration thwarted Soviet progress in Africa, Central America and Central Asia. “Just as Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and Chinese leader Mao strengthened armed revolutions against colonial or U.S.-aligned states, American power would now reassure and nurture rebels against communist states” (“The Reagan Doctrine” , and for some of the rebels who were efforts, with assistance from the United States, to banish Soviet-backed regimes in their individual countries. The practical implementation of some of the doctrine's policies caused confusion in the country. within American political domination itself. theory in practice Reagan authorized the sale of arms to Iran, and the profit from this trade was intended to provide monetary aid to the contras – the anti-Sandinista rebels who were secretly there. trained by American special forces ("The Reagan Doctrine", n.d. Furthermore, as the Contras were both supported and developed tactically by the United States and used against Soviet-backed regimes, the "revelation of the he Iran-Contra affair in late 1986 provoked intense scrutiny from Congress. The scandal seriously weakened the president's influence” (“The Reagan Doctrine,” n.d.). Furthermore, the revelation of the negative aspects of the Reagan Doctrine ultimately assuaged American concern over Nicaragua in 1987 (“The Reagan Doctrine,” n.d.). It should be noted that it was through the implementation of the Reagan Doctrine that countries like Nicaragua were finally able to claim peace, as this doctrine paved the way for the start of general elections in Nicaragua. In 1990, the result was that "Nicaraguan disapproval drove the Sandinistas, ending a