Founded in 2019, the core principle of the Reagan Institute Strategy Group (RISG) is that America’s role in the world is indispensable to preserving the free, open, and peaceful political and economic system that provides the foundation for how countries interact. Conversations about U.S. national security and foreign policy often become esoteric, and RISG is committed to stepping back to assess what is really at stake. In the context of rising threats from authoritarian competitors, the question of America’s global leadership is crucial to the survival of the free world itself.
The Reagan Institute is dedicated to promoting President Reagan’s timeless principles as a lens through which to view the challenges we face today. That is why in July of 2022, the Institute gathered a group leading foreign policy and national security thinkers and practitioners to discuss and debate the way forward. The essays collected here reflect the discussions that took place at the third RISG summer retreat in Park City, Utah.
A shared set of beliefs guides deliberation among members of the Reagan Institute Strategy Group: that American leadership, including military strength and economic engagement, is the best guarantor of peace, security, and prosperity; that America’s national success is inextricably linked to the that of the free world; and that American values are universal, as freedom and human dignity are the birthright of all peoples regardless of their country of birth.
The goal of RISG is to chart a course for reviving a Reaganesque approach to foreign policy and national security. Any set of policy ideas is valuable only insofar as it is politically viable. With the recent geopolitical upheaval and economic uncertainty shaping questions of foreign policy ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, America and the world need fresh thinking based on timeless principles. Our hope is that the following essays will serve as the start of a conversation about the policies that will promote a world where peace, freedom, and opportunity will flourish—but also that are responsive to the shifting political and security environment.
Fundamentally, the Reagan Institute Strategy Group is not a nostalgia exercise yearning for a bygone era that will not return. Rather, it is a forward-looking endeavor that focuses on the new ideas, priorities, and frameworks needed for meeting the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century based on the vision and values of our 40th President.
