ABSTRACT
Ronald Reagan’s delegation of responsibility, as well as his desire to have issues resolved among his cabinet and then presented to him as options, indicates that his advisory system can be characterized as being formal, with Reagan exercising a low centralization. The other goals Reagan had for his advisory system were to delegate and maintain a ‘hands off’ style of management. An advisory system based on cabinet style decision-making with responsibilities delegated to the president’s principal advisors is the kind of system Reagan wanted. US – Soviet relations at the beginning of the Reagan administration were at one of their lowest points in the history of the Cold War. On May 3, McFarlane briefed Reagan on the variety of positions in the administration, but directed Reagan’s attention to Burt’s two-phase proposal which the president found favorable. The Special Arms Control Policy Group was tasked with constructing the administration’s policy toward the Soviet Union on all arms control reductions.
