ABSTRACT
Mikhail Gorbachev was elected general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, few Western observers anticipated major alterations in Soviet external policy; most believe that the changes since 1985 have been dramatic, and even spectacular. On becoming general secretary, Gorbachev inherited the dual-track approach to national security hammered out by Leonid Brezhnev at the start of the 1970's. In contrast, Gorbachev is attempting to moderate Western military behavior by capitalizing on the dramatic new program of internal political liberalization that he first unveiled before the Central Committee in January 1987. The essence of liberal critique was that the Brezhnev leadership had placed too much stress on military instruments—not too little, as hard-line critics maintained—and had failed to gain the security benefits available through flexible diplomacy and compromise. Gorbachev's bid to use legislative reform to strengthen his power and mobilize public support for his security agenda was momentarily blocked.
