ABSTRACT
Mikhail Gorbachev was the right man to articulate the post-Brezhnev consensus and push the CPSU towards new goals. While a regional party secretary, he authored numerous articles on the key policy issues faced by the Soviet leadership in the late Twentieth Century. Many analysts have focused on Gorbachev's pragmatism. While it is true that he has not dwelt on the theoretical foundations of his policies, Gorbachev has strong ideological values and is keenly aware of the need to develop a theoretical underpinning for his policy agenda. In a speech in late 1984, soon after he took on the ideology portfolio in addition to other duties within the Politburo, Gorbachev addressed the need for improvements in ideology. In his Twenty-seventh Party Congress speech, Gorbachev suggested several goals for ideology in terms of his domestic reforms. Gorbachev's ideological values regarding Soviet foreign policy have been dramatic and highly visible.
