America’s 40th president is still remembered for what’s known as the Reagan Doctrine: "peace through strength." He popularized a piece of ancient wisdom, the idea that, as George Washington said, "If we desire to secure peace, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war."
For decades, President Reagan’s maxim has united Americans, but especially Republicans. Reagan’s dedication to peace through strength led to the modernization of our forces and an active foreign policy that helped end the Cold War, stop the spread of Communism, and is still the bedrock of our defense strategy.
But today, many question Americans’ commitment to leading in world affairs. If you believe the media, "isolationism" in America is on the rise, and some Republicans especially want to retreat from the world, rather than build up our military and maintain our alliances.
On the other hand, some on the Left claim that Americans believe "peace through strength" is outdated and provocative – and they argue allies like Israel shouldn’t receive our support.
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But a new poll conducted by the Ronald Reagan Institute shows that both assumptions are wrong: Americans still want our nation to lead, invest in the military and support our allies.
Each year, the Reagan Institute conducts a survey on opinions about foreign policy and defense. This year’s numbers prove that Americans – especially Republicans – are still committed to Reagan’s principles. Significantly, 79% of poll respondents supported increasing military spending, 62% supported maintaining our overseas bases, and 57% think it’s better when the United States takes the lead in world events.
Clearly, Americans still want the United States to stay engaged in world affairs.
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It is true that there’s growing domestic skepticism about the effectiveness of our leadership, especially under Joe Biden. And questioning how the U.S. engages in the world – and especially how our money is spent – is vital.
But pundits should stop confusing criticism of specific foreign interventions, or a desire to ensure that we’re making the most effective investments, with "isolationism." Just because Americans want their tax dollars used responsibly, or question Biden’s foreign policy, doesn’t mean that they oppose military spending and supporting our allies in general.
Americans still support peace through strength because they know it works – and they know we need it now more than ever.
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According to the survey, half of Americans rightly see China as the greatest threat to the United States. Even more are deeply concerned about the growing axis of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea – a full 86% said they were concerned about the increasing collaboration between these nations to undermine the United States.
Americans are worried in no small part because they also know we’re not investing enough to maintain our edge over key adversaries: only 51% of Americans believe that our nation’s military is superior to China’s.
Today, we face two peer nuclear adversaries – but we’ve barely begun modernizing our nuclear forces. Our world is brimming with unrest, from China now having the world’s largest navy, to terrorism in the Middle East, to war in Ukraine. More than ever, Americans want leaders who will prioritize our national defense and support Reagan’s wise maxim.
The new Congress and administration will have a critical opportunity to do so. Unfortunately, America has endured four long years of faltering leadership. From the Afghanistan withdrawal to withholding lethal aid to Israel, Joe Biden’s foreign policy has given Americans a lot to be concerned about.
But despite these failures, or perhaps, because of them, Americans see the need for peace through strength – now more than ever.
