The Rise Of Nations In The Soviet Union
Mandelbaum and his five co-authors provide a handy and timely set of essays anticipating the problems raised for the West by a disintegrating Soviet Union. Because it was written originally for a conference held in October 1990, the policy agenda sketched for the West is preliminary and somewhat superficial. Because it was written by able people, three of whom, Jeremy Azrael, Alexander Motyl and Ronald Suny, have a deep understanding of the national issue in the Soviet Union, they offer a firm, self-confident prediction of what would happen and, in general terms, why.
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Gorbachev's new thinking is based on the belief that military power is not the only way to national security, and that there is a link between national and mutual security. The revolution in foreign policy thinking has been most profound at the level of policy concepts, and has been based on a realization that the real threat to the USSR comes from the weakening of the economy due to excessive military spending. Notes how the ideas underpinning the foreign policy revolution have existed for the last decade, and how the evidence suggests that the change is genuine.
Although Russia has projected itself more forcefully on the world stage since the beginning of the Putin era, its foreign policy still lacks any sort of grand strategic vision. Russian leaders continue to squabble over issues from NATO expansion to the world economy. But they are particularly concerned about Russia's identity, especially with regard to the post-Soviet states. If the Bush administration fails to devise a coherent policy of its own toward its former rival, it may face serious problems down the road.
