ABSTRACT
There can be few tasks of psychological analysis more difficult than to try to trace the interaction of these two forces and the relative role of each in the determination of official Soviet conduct. It is nothing absolute and immutable nothing which flows from objective reality. Like the white dog before the phonograph, they hear only the master's voice. There is no trace of any feeling in Soviet psychology that that goal must be reached at any given time. The considerations make Soviet diplomacy at once easier and more difficult to deal with than the diplomacy of individual aggressive leaders such as Napoleon and Hitler IV. It is clear that the United States cannot expect in the foreseeable future to enjoy political intimacy with the Soviet regime. It is entirely possible for the United States to influence by its actions the internal developments, both within Russia and throughout the international Communist movement, by which Russian policy is largely determined.
