US Foreign Policy in Five Doctrines: 4. The Reagan Doctrine

Justin Webb looks back at the five big US foreign policy shifts from the Monroe Doctrine to Donald Trump. Over five episodes he and his guests look at how America’s approach to the world has constantly changed over time. This may help answer a really big question - how radical is the way Donald Trump deals with the world? Is he really an outlier in US history? Or do his actions reflect the changing patterns of American power? In this episode Justin discusses the Reagan Doctrine with Kathleen Burk, Emeritus Professor in Modern and Contemporary History at University College London and Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King's College London. Presenter: Justin Webb Producers: Caroline Bayley and Kirsteen Knight Researcher: Helena Warwick-Cross Editor: Jon Bithrey Sound engineer: Tom Brignell Credit: Reagan’s State of the Union Address courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

You can listen to US Foreign Policy in Five Doctrines: 4. The Reagan Doctrine online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

US Foreign Policy in Five Doctrines: 4. The Reagan Doctrine is an episode from Understand: The Economy by BBC.

This episode is 14:15 long.

This episode was published on Jan 22, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Understand: The Economy when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.