ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the problem for the Soviet: The world is changing very rapidly and the situation in the 1980s is very different from that in the 1970s, when the Soviet Union was changing very slowly. Until there had been a gap in many respects between what was happening in the Soviet Union and what was happening in the rest of the world. The Soviet Union's crisis can also be viewed from a completely different perspective—namely, in comparison to other countries, both democratic and nondemocratic. Until the early 1970s, the gap between the Soviet Union and its adversaries had closed. Soviet policy is fraught with many dilemmas that show no sign of being resolved. The dilemma in the Soviets' internal situation is that they are weaker than before but have high aspirations, and in their relations with Third World countries the Soviets are unclear in their goals and very dissatisfied with the situation.
