ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with the nature of the relationship between the countries of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and those of the so-called Third World, within the context of a changing international division of labor. It shows that the emergence of Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union and the policies of perestroika associated with his leadership actually are grounded in economic developments that took place. The book outlines how the FRELIMO government in Mozambique had to adjust its policies as a consequence of its experiences with the East, after coming to power in 1975. It offers some background to the decline in the Soviet Union's international position, both politically and economically. The book explains the inability of the Soviet Union to develop new and advanced forms of production associated with the high-technology explosion in modern capitalist industry.
