ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the distinctive nature of the Soviet Union as a world power and assesses the special character of the Soviet challenge to the international system. The point of departure for a realistic appraisal of the relationship must be recognition of the special character of the Soviet system as a world power. The Soviet Union is a world power of a new type in that it might is one-dimensional. As a result, the Soviet Union is essentially incapable of sustaining effective global dominance. The crucial phase in the Soviet challenge occurred during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The only way open to it is that of attrition and gradual disruption of stable international arrangements so that United States suffers directly and indirectly. The Soviet leaders do operate in the context of an orientation in which the retention of what Moscow controls and the disruption of what Washington seeks to organize provide lodestars for more specific tactics and strategies.
