It is some time since I wrote GRIT, Gorbachev and the End of the Cold War and I am grateful to Jason Ralph for giving me an opportunity to re-examine the piece. It is always nice to be ‘congratulated’ and to be noted for providing ‘instructive’ analysis, even if, apparently, the article ‘suffers from epistemological flaws’ and ‘obstructs’ the future construction of security communities. The latter is particularly puzzling since the pursuit of GRIT-type strategies is an aid, not a hindrance, to the creation of security communities.