Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T05:01:32.938Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

19 - Hope

from Part IV - Collapse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 May 2024

Sergey Radchenko
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe
Get access

Summary

This chapter seeks to uncover the origins of New Thinking, with its focus on peaceful coexistence between the East and the West, disarmament, and non-intervention. It argues that while Gorbachev's predecessors sought recognition for the USSR's greatness in the third world, Gorbachev was generally uninterested in maintaining Moscow's reputation as a revolutionary leader. He recognized the Soviet Union's need for reform and aimed to reshape global politics in a way that would allow Moscow to maintain international leadership without overspending on foreign adventures. With the conclusion of the 1987 INF Treaty, Gorbachev demonstrated that disarmament could save money, lessen the dangers of war, and raise Moscow's global standing. However, disentangling from foreign commitments, especially in Afghanistan, proved more complicated. It took a long time to end the conflict in Afghanistan as Gorbachev weighed the moral liability of continued war against considerations of prestige and credibility.

Type
Chapter
Information
To Run the World
The Kremlin's Cold War Bid for Global Power
, pp. 539 - 559
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Hope
  • Sergey Radchenko, Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe
  • Book: To Run the World
  • Online publication: 30 May 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108769679.024
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Hope
  • Sergey Radchenko, Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe
  • Book: To Run the World
  • Online publication: 30 May 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108769679.024
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Hope
  • Sergey Radchenko, Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe
  • Book: To Run the World
  • Online publication: 30 May 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108769679.024
Available formats
×