ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the effects of the process of change initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev on the Soviet Union's probable internal development and external behavior, and the appropriate US strategy toward the USSR under these conditions. The former was initially Gorbachev's main concern, but his gradual recognition that the Soviet system itself stood in the way of achieving that goal impelled him in the direction of more substantial reform. So long as a visibly reforming Soviet Union continues to put forward cooperative options, backed by meaningful concessions and a general policy of self-restraint, the United States should begin to explore the new and wider horizons in East-West relations. Soviet domestic policy is moving toward liberalization to an unprecedented degree, reinforcing the case for a more generalized linkage of Western trade liberalization to continued positive change in the USSR. Human rights issues play a less immediate role in the imperative security aspect of our relations than in optional aspects, such as trade.
