Emergence of the INF Issue, and Negotiations Begun by the Reagan Administration : The “Peace through Strength” Strategy

A serious missile crisis occurred in Europe during the late 1970s and 1980s after the Soviet Union deployed very powerful SS-20 intermediate-range nuclear force (INF) missile in 1977. Such bold military behavior on the part of Soviet Union represented the superiority of the leading socialist nation, pitted against the leading capitalist nation of the United States. Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as U.S. president in 1981. In response to this military action of the Soviet Union, his administration adopted a strategy known as “peace through strength”. This was a fairly new approach that aimed to solve international political issues and establish world peace by utilizing national strengths, such as military power and technology in addition to economic prosperity. This paper explores the beginning of the missile crisis in Europe, as well as the beginning of the Reagan administration’s strategy of “peace through strength”