Reagan at Moscow State University: Consubstantiality Underlying Conflict

At Moscow State University, Ronald Reagan had two seemingly inconsistent rhetorical goals—to maintain a hardline critique of Soviet policies and to support Mikhail Gorbachev in his bid to reform the Soviet Union. This essay argues that he met these objectives through what we call a "rhetoric of shared identity and ideological first principles." In this approach Reagan shifted his focus away from the issues of the day and emphasized ideological first principles, demonstrated common values and goals of the United States and Soviet Union, and finally, linked the ideological critique to the shared identity.