Since Ronald Reagan left office in 1989, the global community has witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union and the integration of Europe, the War on Terror and the Arab Spring, a hot Chinese economy and a major international recession. Reagan's Legacy in a World Transformed brings together scholars from diverse disciplines and persuasions to assess the fortieth president's policies and their ongoing impact today, and to offer a timely retrospective on his complex legacy. The authors consider the influence of Reagan's free-market ideas on economic globalization, showing how deregulation succeeded in spurring economic expansion. In foreign policy, Reagan favored significant increases in military spending ("peace through strength") and an assertive agenda abroad. His break with detente in dealing with the Soviet Union, notably expressed in his 1982 March of Freedom speech, effectively restored the early Cold War strategy of rolling back communism. More than twenty years later, President George W. Bush invoked this speech in describing his goals in the Middle East-a striking example of how Reagan's ideas affected the post-9/11 world. In contrast with his hawkish stance on defense, Reagan's efforts to reduce nuclear arsenals, negotiated with Mikhail Gorbachev, constitute one of his enduring contributions to stability. Although Reagan's policies soared on rhetoric rooted in ideological conviction, the president engaged in pragmatic internationalism when a multilateral approach served America's interests. He believed that America had a special mission as a moral leader and beacon of freedom, a view that continues to inform U.S. foreign policy.

This is a comprehensive analysis of the myriad US laws for imposing economic sanctions for foreign policy reasons. Against a broad range of target countries, the United States has resorted increasingly to a variety of economic pressures as a major tool in its foreign policy. Examples include South Africa, Panama, Libya, Nicaragua, the Soviet Union, Poland and Iran. The book is written in a lucid style designed for both non-lawyer and lawyer. It begins with a brief history and examination of the effectiveness of economic sanctions, drawing upon the existing literature. It then breaks ground by carefully analysing the wide range of US laws that authorize controls on government programmes (such as foreign aid), US exports, imports, private financial transactions, and assistance by international financial institutions. The study offers discussion of the 1988 omnibus trade bill and includes a useful chapter examining the widely differing laws of major US allies, notably the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and the European Community.