ABSTRACT
The Soviet Union's traditional 'revolutionary' self-image as a power antagonistic to the West has its counterpart in a specific Soviet approach to the conduct of foreign policy. The traditional Soviet conception of foreign policy encompasses both interstate and societal relations. The Soviet leaders have significantly changed their performance at the societal level of their foreign policy. They have virtually abandoned their former practice of seeking to undermine the policies of Western governments 'from below'. Under Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union claims to be a normal state without quasi-revolutionary ambitions. There is much talk of the 'de-ideologization' of interstate and international relations. The Gorbachev leadership prides itself on its 'new thinking', on its departure from antiquated dogmas and cliches. A time-based analysis shows that the viewpoints of the Gorbachev leadership have been changing in response to the changing situations with which it has been confronted.
