Nixon’s Trilateral Diplomacy v. Reagan’s 1982 National Security Strategy

Comparative Strategic Leadership: Evaluate and Compare the Strategic Leadership behind Nixon’s Trilateral Diplomacy with China and Reagan’s 1982 National Security Strategy
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Comparative Strategic Leadership
Memorandum
To: The Lecturer
From: Political Science Student
Date: 7th Sept. 2018
Subject: Comparative Strategic Leadership
Strategic leadership is not a new term when it comes to the history of the United States. Leaders like President Nixon and Reagan have successfully used this leadership style to pursue the goals and interests of the United States in the era of the Cold War which threatened the supremacy of the United States and global peace. Strategic leadership is a type of leadership style where the leader envisions the future of a country and goes ahead to influence others within the country and beyond for the common good of meeting national interests (Kurt & Elly, 2018). While the era of the Cold War was an acid test for the leadership styles of Nixon and Reagan, the two leaders uniquely used opposite approaches to secure the nation and ensure its prosperity at the time when communism was endangering the security of the Americans. Nixon used trilateral diplomacy while Reagan employed National Security Strategy to overcome external and internal challenges that affected the nation during his era. This essay compares and contrasts challenges (both external and internal) that Nixon and Reagan faced and how they strategically positioned the United States to navigate their political challenges.
External Challenges faced by each Leader and the Overall Strategy used.
Nixon and Reagan faced different external challenges. Nixon’s main challenge was the onset of the Vietnam War in 1960 which came as a test to his leadership style. France withdrew after the U.S joining the war and thousands of American soldiers died on the battlefield. Pressure at home forced the U.S to exit the War (Terry, 2007). It became even worse when Nixon had to struggle to contain communism in the region. The main problem during Nixon’s time is that he was facing two main enemies, the Soviet Union and China. To address this problem, Nixon used triangular diplomacy which culminated to his visit in China in 1972 (Kurt & Elly, 2018). Nixon, with the help of his adviser Henry Kissinger, devised Triangular Diplomacy strategy to exploit advantages for the U.S in the era of the Cold War. The United States had historically failed to recognize the existence of the communist Chinese government under the leadership of Mao. The animosity was quelled when Nixon surprised everyone by announcing his visit to China in 1972. The visit made the Soviet Union question the loyalty of the Chinese government to the communist regime, hence easing the pressure that the Americans wer...