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Understanding Soviet Foreign Policy (1917-1991)

Year 2019, Volume: 1 Issue: 1, 215 - 234, 22.08.2019

Abstract

Until 1985, the USSR followed two
schools of Soviet diplomacy: Stalinist and neo-Stalinist. Under the leadership
of Mikail Gorbachov, radical changes in both the theory and practice of Soviet foreign
policy resulted in a new concept based on a vision of the world in full evolution.
In his self-proclaimed “new political thinking”, Gorbachov moved the emphasis
from the importance of class struggle in international relations to “mutual
security” and the role of politics in resolving disputes, and underlined the interdependency
of the contemporary world. He called for mutual efforts to solve problems such
as debt, hunger, pollution and disarmament in particular. The Soviets also referred
to new political thinking to explain surprising policy moves, such as the
withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan, the acceptance of on-site inspection in
the 1986 Conference on Disarmament in Europe (CDE) and the 1987 Intermediate
Range Nuclear Forces (INF) agreements, and the payment of UN dues long in
arrears. Although Gorbachev can be considered to be an innovator, there were
other leaders who had initiated dramatic changes in foreign policy throughout
Soviet history. For example, at the time of the revolution itself, in 1924, in
1953-1955, and, although to a lesser degree, in the first few years after
Brezhnev’s rise in 1970. In all these periods, change was imposed in a top-down
manner by referring to Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy and importing ideas and
slogans from the outside world. This article aims to examine the tradition of
change in Soviet foreign policy from the formation of the Soviet Union, with a
specific focus on the antecedents to Gorbachev’s “new political thinking” and
the ensuing.

References

  • Izvestia Pravda BURIN, Frederic S., “The Communist Doctrine of the inevitability of War”, American Political Science Review, Vol. 1, No. 2 (1963). DEUTSCHER, Isaac, Stalin: A Political Biography, New York, 1967. DUNLOP, J., The Faces of Contemporary Russian Nationalism, Princeton, 1983. FLERON, Frederic J. & Erik P. Hoffmann, Robbin F. Laird (ed.), Soviet Foreign Policy 1917-1991: Classic and Contemporary Issues, London: Routledge, 2017. GORBACHEV, Mikhail, Perestroika, New York: Harper&Row, 1986. GORODETSKY, Gabriel (ed.), Soviet Foreign Policy, 1917-1991: A Retrospective, London: Routledge, 2014. GRACHEV, Andrei, Gorbachev’s Gamble: Soviet Foreign Policy and the End of the Cold War, Oxford: Wiley, 2013. HOFFMANN, Erik P. and Frederic J. Fleron, The Conduct of Soviet Foreign Policy, New York: Aldine, 1980. KISSINGER, Henry A., White House Years, Boston: Little Brown, 1979. McCAULEY, Martin (ed.), Khrushchev and Khrushchevism, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988. MITCHELL, R. Judson, “A New Brezhnev Doctrine: The Restructuring of International Relations”, World Politics, Vol. 30, No. 3 (1978). NOGEE, Joseph L. & Robert H. Donaldson, Soviet Foreign Policy Since World War II, Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1984. OUIMET, Matthew J., The Rise and Fall of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Soviet Foreign Policy (The New Cold War History), Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. RAUCH, Georg von, A History of Soviet Russia, New York: Prager, 1957. ROBERTS, J. W., “Lenin’s Theory of Imperialism in Soviet Usage”, Soviet Studies, Vol. 29, No. 3 (July 1977), pp. 353-372. SERVICE, Robert, The End of the Cold War, London: Macmillan, 2015. TRISKA, Jan F., Soviet Communism: Programs and Rules, San Francisco: Chandler Publishing, 1962. Understanding Soviet Foreign Policy, McNair Papers, Number 7, National Defense University, The Institute for National Strategic Studies, Washington D. C., 1990. YANOV, A., The Russian Challenge and the Year 2000, Oxford, 1987.
Year 2019, Volume: 1 Issue: 1, 215 - 234, 22.08.2019

Abstract

References

  • Izvestia Pravda BURIN, Frederic S., “The Communist Doctrine of the inevitability of War”, American Political Science Review, Vol. 1, No. 2 (1963). DEUTSCHER, Isaac, Stalin: A Political Biography, New York, 1967. DUNLOP, J., The Faces of Contemporary Russian Nationalism, Princeton, 1983. FLERON, Frederic J. & Erik P. Hoffmann, Robbin F. Laird (ed.), Soviet Foreign Policy 1917-1991: Classic and Contemporary Issues, London: Routledge, 2017. GORBACHEV, Mikhail, Perestroika, New York: Harper&Row, 1986. GORODETSKY, Gabriel (ed.), Soviet Foreign Policy, 1917-1991: A Retrospective, London: Routledge, 2014. GRACHEV, Andrei, Gorbachev’s Gamble: Soviet Foreign Policy and the End of the Cold War, Oxford: Wiley, 2013. HOFFMANN, Erik P. and Frederic J. Fleron, The Conduct of Soviet Foreign Policy, New York: Aldine, 1980. KISSINGER, Henry A., White House Years, Boston: Little Brown, 1979. McCAULEY, Martin (ed.), Khrushchev and Khrushchevism, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988. MITCHELL, R. Judson, “A New Brezhnev Doctrine: The Restructuring of International Relations”, World Politics, Vol. 30, No. 3 (1978). NOGEE, Joseph L. & Robert H. Donaldson, Soviet Foreign Policy Since World War II, Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1984. OUIMET, Matthew J., The Rise and Fall of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Soviet Foreign Policy (The New Cold War History), Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. RAUCH, Georg von, A History of Soviet Russia, New York: Prager, 1957. ROBERTS, J. W., “Lenin’s Theory of Imperialism in Soviet Usage”, Soviet Studies, Vol. 29, No. 3 (July 1977), pp. 353-372. SERVICE, Robert, The End of the Cold War, London: Macmillan, 2015. TRISKA, Jan F., Soviet Communism: Programs and Rules, San Francisco: Chandler Publishing, 1962. Understanding Soviet Foreign Policy, McNair Papers, Number 7, National Defense University, The Institute for National Strategic Studies, Washington D. C., 1990. YANOV, A., The Russian Challenge and the Year 2000, Oxford, 1987.
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Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Behçet Kemal Yeşilbursa

Publication Date August 22, 2019
Submission Date April 21, 2019
Published in Issue Year 2019 Volume: 1 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Yeşilbursa, B. K. (2019). Understanding Soviet Foreign Policy (1917-1991). Journal of International Eastern European Studies, 1(1), 215-234.
AMA Yeşilbursa BK. Understanding Soviet Foreign Policy (1917-1991). Journal of International Eastern European Studies. August 2019;1(1):215-234.
Chicago Yeşilbursa, Behçet Kemal. “Understanding Soviet Foreign Policy (1917-1991)”. Journal of International Eastern European Studies 1, no. 1 (August 2019): 215-34.
EndNote Yeşilbursa BK (August 1, 2019) Understanding Soviet Foreign Policy (1917-1991). Journal of International Eastern European Studies 1 1 215–234.
IEEE B. K. Yeşilbursa, “Understanding Soviet Foreign Policy (1917-1991)”, Journal of International Eastern European Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 215–234, 2019.
ISNAD Yeşilbursa, Behçet Kemal. “Understanding Soviet Foreign Policy (1917-1991)”. Journal of International Eastern European Studies 1/1 (August 2019), 215-234.
JAMA Yeşilbursa BK. Understanding Soviet Foreign Policy (1917-1991). Journal of International Eastern European Studies. 2019;1:215–234.
MLA Yeşilbursa, Behçet Kemal. “Understanding Soviet Foreign Policy (1917-1991)”. Journal of International Eastern European Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, 2019, pp. 215-34.
Vancouver Yeşilbursa BK. Understanding Soviet Foreign Policy (1917-1991). Journal of International Eastern European Studies. 2019;1(1):215-34.