Between Promise and Policy

Between Promise and Policy is a thoughtful and intriguing study that compares the professed ideals and actual realities of conservative reformism leading up to, and during, the Reagan presidency. The author examines Ronald Reagan's defense program, his policies to reduce the size of the federal government, regulatory reform, and the reprioritizing of government expenditures. Karaagac concludes that the Regan administration effectively employed ideology as a political tool: President Reagan could alternate between being pragmatic and flexible, in order to score political victories, while making a stand as a staunch defender of conservative principles in order to rally his supporters.