Understanding Soviet Foreign Policy (1917-1991)

Yıl 2019, Cilt: 1 Sayı: 1, 215 - 234, 22.08.2019

Behçet Kemal Yeşilbursa

Öz

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.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Gorbachev, Soviet Union, Foreign Policy

Kaynakça

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