ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that a genuine attempt is being made within the Soviet leadership to rethink the fundamentals of Soviet foreign policy. The Soviet regime was born with an international mission. The development of socialism in the Soviet Union is no longer seen as a smooth and flawless process. One of the most important factors attenuating the Soviet sense of international mission is the vastly increased salience of domestic problems and needs. Soviet political practice has long reflected the habits the Bolshevik Party acquired during its formative years as an underground, conspiratorial Party. On several occasions the Soviet leadership has succumbed to excessive optimism about trends in the international correlation of forces, and this has been an important factor hindering East-West detente. A genuine effort is underway to reexamine long-standing Soviet assumptions about the nature of imperialism and the degree of threat that it poses to the Soviet Union.
