ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses Soviet analyses and perceptions of the nature of the Western Alliance, particularly those elements of its security policy most directly relevant to the military challenge. The resurgence of the West European power center has occurred most dramatically in the political-economic realm. Economically, Western Europe has become a serious competitor as well as a collaborator with the United States. Soviet analysts express concern that a stronger Western Europe, one more independent and more capable of defending itself, might be emerging. Soviet peacetime strategy toward the Alliance is designed to test the Alliance framework, to search for weaknesses, and to encourage positive trends. Throughout the postwar period, the Soviets have pursued various policies toward West Germany. Soviet analysts have underscored the centrality of the tension between the European nuclear powers and West Germany to impeding West European defense cooperation. The Soviet approach to the Alliance attempts to combine a political-military and military-technical strategy.
