ABSTRACT
Western analysts have noted that the Soviet Union's economic and technological potential was inferior to that of the United States and other Western countries. The Soviet Union's 1979-83 effort made the United States embark on both military counterarmament and political confrontation. Underlying the emerging crisis was the Soviet system's inherent inability to provide economic efficiency and to generate technological innovation. The Soviet leaders were confronted with the prospect that their country's underdevelopment was deepening and that its military power would be of declining relevance. The most concrete vision of a Soviet-type security system for Europe is the idea of collective security. The Western countries would have been put into a very embarrassing situation: Soviet expansionism and German nationalism would unite to challenge the West's position in Europe. Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union were in a process of destabilization and entering a period of potentially violent upheaval which might invite armed struggle and brutal repression.
