ABSTRACT
Mikhail Gorbachev and other Soviet spokesmen have been quite open about their desire to change their image and retake the initiative in international relations. While Gorbachev has been an active diplomat, he has been an ardent proponent of the view that foreign policy should serve domestic needs. Gorbachev very early indicated that his ambitious domestic program called for a "calm" international atmosphere to permit concentrating attention and resources on domestic reform. The "de-ideologization" of foreign policy is a central premise of Gorbachev's reforms and a key to achievement of the kind of peaceful external environment which perestroika needs for success. Gorbachev's claim that ideology has no place in interstate relations is clearly provocative, and has required some careful justification. Gorbachev has said that recognizing the priority for human values is the "backbone" of the new political thinking and has professed a willingness to bring down many of the barriers between socialists and capitalists.
