ABSTRACT
Under Mikhail S. Gorbachev, Soviet policy toward Europe has undergone the most dramatic changes since the end of World War II. Gorbachev's "new thinking" provided an important framework for the shift in the Soviet approach to conventional arms control. During the first year and a half after Gorbachev assumed power, West Germany continued to be the subject of constant vituperation for its "revanchist" policy. In contrast to his predecessors, especially Leonid I. Brezhnev, Gorbachev has seen arms control as the primary means of enhancing Soviet security and reducing East-West confrontation. Soviet policy in Europe under Gorbachev must be seen against the background of the policy that he inherited from his predecessors, especially Leonid I. Brezhnev. In Western Europe, the Soviet Union was isolated, its policy stalled as a result of the intermediate-range nuclear forces debacle. The cumulative effect of the changes has been seriously to erode Soviet influence in Eastern Europe.
