Question

how do some scholars believe Ronald Reagan helped bring an end to cold war

Answer 1

Well, Reagan outspent the Soviets, which resulted in an end to the arms race of the Cold War because the Soviets were unable to keep up. (Think SDI or Star Wars) He also agreed with Gorbachev to remove all medium and short-range missiles, which ended the fear and arms race associated with the Cold War. Reagan basically forced Gorbachev to come up with new policies such as glasnost, perestroika, and defense cuts that not only ended the arms race but resulted in a new open, democratic takeover in the Soviet Union