ABSTRACT
The end of the Cold War baffles us: almost nobody expected it. Events spiralled out of control engulfing participants in actions they could not have imagined just a few years before. Rather than being inscribed in the seamless web of history, so much seemed contingent on the actions of a remarkable man, Mikhail Gorbachev, and the people around him. Yet, why he did what he did remains a topic of heated debate among political scientists and historians, journalists and international relations scholars.1 Realists and neo-realists, believing in the centrality of power in international politics, argue that Gorbachev had little choice. Faced with the stagnation of the Soviet economy and the erosion of the military and technological base of Soviet power, Gorbachev had to embark on a series of fundamental reforms in order to resuscitate the Soviet system and ensure the future security of the Soviet regime as well as enhance its long-term influence.2 Liberals and neo-liberals dispute the centrality of power and focus on the salience of ideas, ideals, ideologies and institutions. Gorbachev, they claim, assimilated new beliefs from a generation of younger advisers and experts who were momentarily exhilarated by the Khrushchev thaw, disillusioned by the era of stagnation under Brezhnev, and inspired by ongoing contacts with Western scientists, media and culture.3
