Individual Soviet and American leaders pursued differing domestic and foreign policy
strategies and goals that served to influence the ebb and flow of progress on arms control. In the
mid-1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan influenced the direction of Soviet and
American policy, respectively. Gorbachev pursued accommodating policies towards the United
States in order to allow himself the opportunity to restructure the Soviet economy. To do so, he
required a peaceful international environment, which would allow him to decrease resources for
the military. In contrast, during the presidential campaign of 1980 and continuing when he came
into office in 1981, Ronald Reagan focused the attention of the nation on American security and
the struggle with the Soviet Union. In a speech at the annual convention of the National
Association of Evangelicals in 1983, Reagan infamously referred to the Soviet Union as the "evil
Despite this rhetoric, however, when Reagan and Gorbachev met in Reykjavik, Iceland
in 1986 for what was billed as a "pre-summit," the leaders of the two superpowers "bargained" to
the point of eliminating all nuclear weapons.
Scholars have developed explanations for why political leaders experience success and
failure in cooperation. Realists believe in the primacy of national security over domestic issues.
Classical realists perceive the world as being ruled by the "law of the jungle" in which all states
must protect their national interests at all cost. This is a "dog-eat-dog" world and military power
is a vital ingredient of survival. Thus, competition serves to increase or preserve a state's power.
Entering into an agreement with another state must be viewed with suspicion because the interests
of states are constantly in conflict.
In contrast to classical realists, neoliberals believe that cooperation among nation-states is
possible. In fact, it dominates a system that is characterized by a variable-sum game, in which all
states can benefit from cooperation. Joseph Grieco defines cooperation as "the voluntary
adjustment by states of their policies so that they manage their differences and reach some
1
Drafts of the speech contain significant handwritten comments by Reagan. There is no indication he came up
with the phrase “evil empire” however. Drafts of Presidential Address: National Association of Evangelicals,
Orlando Florida, March 8, 1983, Presidential Handwriting File, Presidential Speeches, 073172, SP729, File: 150.
2
See Hans J. Morgenthau, Politics Among Nations (New York: Knopf, 1973).
Convention