Events

March 1, 2018 at 10:15 pm

Contemporary History | Carter, Reagan and Euromissiles, March 8

Luke Griffith, outdoor portrait

Luke Griffith

The Contemporary History Institute welcomes the Baker Peace Fellow for the 2017-18 academic year, Luke Griffith lecturing on “Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and the Euromissiles” on Thursday, March 8, at 4:30 p.m. in Baker 242.

Griffith, a doctoral graduate student in History at Ohio University, explores the genesis of the world’s first nuclear disarmament agreement, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which liquidated an entire class of missiles from U.S. and Soviet arsenals.

He particularly analyzes the roles played by President Jimmy Carter and President Ronald Reagan in formulating and implementing a polarizing North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) initiative, the dual-track decision, calling for a new generation of American missiles in Europe and simultaneous arms control negotiations with the Soviet Union. After years of complicated, arcane negotiations, President Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev signed the INF Treaty in December 1987.

Griffith studies U.S. foreign policy with Dr. Chester Pach, Associate Professor of History. Griffith is crafting the final chapter of his dissertation, aiming to defend the project in the fall of 2018.

This event is free and open to the public.

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