About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

481 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. 9 (1985)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0481 and id is 1 raw text is: PREFACE In a world of rapid and unpredictable change, Mikhail Gorbachev and the emerging generation of Soviet elites face difficult choices in foreign policy between competing interests, between the need for flexibility and the need for toughness, and between long- and short-term goals. Although the new leader inherits the achieve- ment of military parity with the United States, the broader pursuit of Soviet interests occurs in a global environment that is multipolar politically and increas- ingly interdependent economically. This diffusion of power creates new opportuni- ties for extending Soviet influence but it also creates new risks of miscalculation and policy failures that could undermine Gorbachev's authority within the Kremlin and internationally. Whatever the decisions, they will have to allow for the legacy of previous commitments, ideological rigidity, and the sobering reality of nuclear weapons. This special issue of The Annals aims to inform speculation about the likely foreign policy goals and priorities of the Gorbachev era. The issue, which assesses recent Soviet foreign policy from a variety of national and regional perspectives, consists entirely of articles by non-Americans. It is, I believe, the first collection of this kind. Each author was asked to address three broad questions: (1) how has Soviet policy toward his or her particular country or region changed over the past 15 years, since the middle of the Brezhnev period? (2) what local and international factors appear to be the most salient in explaining shifts in Soviet policy? and (3) what lessons can be drawn regarding the degree and effectiveness of Soviet involvement in local and regional affairs? Three purposes lay behind this approach. One was to identify and encourage scholars in other parts of the world who are interested in Soviet foreign policy. Another was to promote closer cooperation among analysts with different national perspectives in order to broaden our mutual understanding of Soviet capabilities. This goal was achieved in part by a meeting of contributors to the volume. For several days in November 1984 the authors, most of whom were meeting for the first time, discussed their draft essays and ways of strengthening Soviet foreign policy studies that in many areas of the world do not exist beyond the narrow confines of official diplomacy. Finally, the volume was intended as an antidote to the ethnocen- trism of Soviet studies in the United States, where Soviet international behavior is measured primarily in terms of immediate U.S. interests, with insufficient attention to how other nations manage their relations with Moscow and with what effects. U.S. VIEWS OF SOVIET FOREIGN POLICY Almost 70 years after the October revolution, the U.S. foreign policy community remains deeply divided by the nature of the Soviet threat. Charles Wolf, Jr., of the Rand Corporation has characterized the debate as being between two conflicting sets of beliefs.' One of these he terms mirror imaging, which holds that, while the 1. Charles Wolf, Jr., Extended Containment, in Beyond Containment, ed. Aaron Wildavsky (Westlake Village, CA: ICS Press, 1983). 9

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most