22 WebMemo Published by No. 2631 September 28, 2009

How Margaret Helped to End the Ted R. Bromund, Ph.D.

When came to power in “a real détente” but pointed out that when Leonid 1979, many in the West had come to believe that Brezhnev, the Soviet leader, lectured his population the Cold War could not and should not be won, on peaceful co-existence, he proclaimed that this “in that anti- was morally wrong, and that no way implies the possibility of relaxing the ideo- the future lay in détente between the superpowers logical struggle.” and the evolution of democracy into ever-deepen- Even more vitally, as Thatcher put it, “through- ing state . By the time she left office, the out this decade of détente, the armed forces of the had fallen and Eastern Europe was lib- have increased, are increasing, and erated. A year later, the Soviet Union crumbled into show no signs of diminishing.” A real détente would the dustbin of history. Democracy and freedom be one that “Russia supports in actions as well as were on the advance. words.” Instead, the U.S.S.R. was arming while Prime Minister Thatcher’s contributions to this simultaneously deepening its domestic repression. victory were profound. Together with the firm Moscow’s behavior had consequences for the policy vision of her close friend President , of the West, because “a nation that denies those free- the inspiration of Pope John Paul II, and the deter- doms to its own people will have few scruples in mination of the oppressed peoples of Eastern denying them to others.” Free Europe needed to Europe and Russia, her courage and leadership were stand united, field a military strong enough to deter instrumental to democracy’s defeat of Communism. aggression, and work—through NATO—with the if it was to prevail in its common Even before 1979, the Soviet Union derisively 1 described her as the Iron Lady. She proved that, for purpose: the “pursuit and preservation of liberty.” once, the Communists spoke the truth, turning what These were the themes that dominated was intended as an insult into an honor hailed Thatcher’s public life, both in opposition and in around the world. As the liberated nations and their government, for the next 15 years. She insisted on friends and allies commemorate the 20th anniver- speaking the truth about the Soviet Union. This sary of the in 1989, her part in was deeply unpopular in many circles, both at this great victory must be remembered with gratitude. Margaret Thatcher’s Vision of “A Real Détente.” Thatcher was elected leader of the Con- servative Party in . In a major speech This paper, in its entirety, can be found at: to the Chelsea that July, www.heritage.org/Research/Europe/wm2631.cfm Produced by The Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom she set out her vision for British foreign policy and Published by The Heritage Foundation the unity of the West. She expressed her support for 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002–4999 (202) 546-4400 • heritage.org Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress. No. 2631 WebMemo September 28, 2009 home and abroad, where her honesty was regarded The second challenge was to convince democ- as dangerous to the effort to develop closer rela- racy’s enemies throughout the world that the West tions with the U.S.S.R. But Thatcher, in keeping had recovered its will not just to defend itself but to with the conviction she had held since her youth, resist aggression with force. When in 1982 an believed that what was truly dangerous was to authoritarian Argentine junta invaded the Falkland indulge the worship of the state that had created a Islands, Thatcher immediately recognized that Brit- tyranny in the U.S.S.R. and a suffocating socialism ain had to fight back. To surrender the Falklands in Britain itself.1 would be to give in to aggression and to encourage She coupled this clarity of moral vision with a it around the world. Under her inspiring leader- belief in the essential unity of the West, including ship, Britain retook the Islands. This decisive action the U.S., Britain, and Western Europe, and of the stunned the Soviets, who never believed the British vital importance of Western armed strength to peace would resist, and brought democracy to Argentina and security. But her vision was not one of eternal by destroying the reputation of the junta. The great stalemate. Rather, precisely because she believed that wave of democratization around the world in the the U.S.S.R’s foundations were faulty, she argued was launched in part by Thatcher’s actions that, if it was contained by the West’s arms and con- during the Falkland crisis. fronted by its superior, free economies and the real- The third challenge was to restore economic lib- ity of its liberties, the Communist state would erty in the West and to break the perception that eventually be forced to recognize its own failure. Western societies were slowly and inevitably mov- Courage and Leadership, at Home and ing toward sluggish bureaucratic socialism. As long Abroad. Thatcher took office after the Conservative as this perception persisted, the Soviet Union could Party won a smashing victory in the gen- believe that to triumph, it needed only to endure. eral election. The challenges she faced were vast, This problem was especially acute in Britain, which though Ronald Reagan’s 1980 U.S. electoral victory had acquired a terrible reputation as a declining, was a vital source of strength. Reagan had first met ungovernable nation dominated by far-left trade Thatcher in 1975, and both leaders had immedi- unions. By defeating the effort of the coal miners ately recognized that they shared fundamental prin- union to bring the nation to its knees in 1984–85 ciples. As leaders of great and independent nations and by launching a far-reaching program of dena- they acted not in union but in concert, ultimately tionalization, she rewrote the narrative of British agreeing on the major challenges of the 1980s. decline and led the Western economic revival of the 1980s that destroyed the Soviets’ last hope. The first such challenge was to redress the strate- gic balance between the Soviet Union and the West. “I Spotted Him”: Thatcher’s Vision Vindi- On December 12, 1979, the NATO alliance decided cated. Like Reagan’s, Thatcher’s vision was one of to deploy cruise and Pershing II missiles in Western hope. Precisely because of her faith in the West, she Europe to counter the Soviet SS-20 mobile system. believed that the Cold War could be won and that This decision was unpopular with many, and it led the Soviet Union would not last forever—the inhu- to years of contentious protests. But with Thatcher’s manity of its system would be its downfall. Even full and courageous support, the deployment pro- more eagerly than Reagan, she looked for a Soviet ceeded. Eight years later, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. leader who recognized that the Soviet system, if signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, confronted by a strong and united West, could which marked the beginning of the end of the Cold never win. She found him in . War in Europe and vindicated Thatcher’s belief in As she wrote: NATO, in the Anglo–American alliance, and in the I always believed that our western system importance of peace through strength. would ultimately triumph, if we did not throw

1. Margaret Thatcher, “Speech to Chelsea Conservative Association (Attacking Detente),” Margaret Thatcher Foundation, July 26, 1975, at http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=102750 (September 23, 2009).

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our advantages away, because it rested on the do so, and their enmity honored her, as it honored unique, almost limitless, creativity and vitality all the Western leaders and Eastern dissidents who of individuals. Even a system like that of the resisted Communism. But the steadfastness of the Soviets, which set out to crush the individual, dissidents had to be matched with courage and could never totally succeed in doing so.… leadership in the West. It was liberty’s fortune that, This also implied that at some time the right in Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, the world individual could challenge even the system found leaders who shared a vital faith in freedom. which he had used to attain power.… That is The West must remember how Margaret why those who subsequently considered that Thatcher helped to end the Cold War, for her prin- I was led astray from my original approach ciples are as vital now as they were thirty years ago: to the Soviet Union because I was dazzled by Mr Gorbachev were wrong. I spotted him be- • Seek peace through strength, cause I was searching for someone like him.2 • Resist aggression without fear, and Gorbachev wanted to reform the Communist • Believe that any state that limits freedom system, not end it. But as Thatcher and Reagan rec- destroys its own future. ognized, once Communism began to liberalize, it Those are the lessons the West must learn from was doomed. Their faith in liberty brought strength the Iron Lady. to the West, destruction to the totalitarians, and a —Ted R. Bromund, Ph.D., is Senior Research Fellow peaceful victory in the Cold War. in the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, a division The Iron Lady. The Soviet leaders recognized of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for Margaret Thatcher as a worthy opponent because International Studies, at The Heritage Foundation. she spoke the truth about them. They were right to

2. Margaret Thatcher, The Years (HarperCollins, 1993), p. 452.