Gorbachev's Gamble: Soviet Foreign Policy and the End of the Cold War

Description

The sudden ending of the Cold War, surely the dominant feature of the second half of the 20th century, continues to be one of the most unexpected and perplexing events of our time. Explanations provided by the winners and losers in the Cold War differ considerably and often contradict each other. Even taken together they do not provide a compelling answer to the key question: why did it happen?Gorbachev's Gamble offers a new and more convincing answer to this question by providing the missing link between the internal and external aspects of Gorbachev's perestroika. Andrei Grachev show.;Cover; Half Page; Dedication; Title Page; Copyright; Contents; The Gorbachev Years: A Chronology; Preface and Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Preparing the Change; Dual-Track Diplomacy; The Military-Diplomatic Complex; 'Moles' in the Corridors of Power; Cracks in the Monolith; 2. Ambitions and Illusions of the 'New Political Thinking'; Training for Leadership; First Exercises in Foreign Policy; Building the New Team; Summits in Paris and Geneva; A 'Tail' of Soviet Diplomacy?; 'New Thinking' or Ideology Revisited?; From Philosophy to Politics; Reykjavik -- 'the Failed Summit'? Cover Half Page Dedication Title Page Copyright Contents The Gorbachev Years: A Chronology Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Preparing the Change Dual-Track Diplomacy The Military-Diplomatic Complex 'Moles' in the Corridors of Power Cracks in the Monolith 2. Ambitions and Illusions of the 'New Political Thinking' Training for Leadership First Exercises in Foreign Policy Building the New Team Summits in Paris and Geneva A 'Tail' of Soviet Diplomacy? 'New Thinking' or Ideology Revisited? From Philosophy to Politics Reykjavik -- 'the Failed Summit'? 'New Political Thinking': Rules and Tools3. Breaking the Ice Untying the Reykjavik 'Package' Withdrawing from Afghanistan and Retiring from the 'Third World' 'Abandoning' Eastern Europe Destroying the Berlin Wall 4. Up to the Peak and Down the Slope Gorbachev's 'Anti-Fulton' Speech at the UN 1989 -- the Year of 'the Great Turn' Malta -- a Belated Triumph On the Other Bank of the Rubicon The War in the Gulf and Shevardnadze's Resignation The G7 in London: The Summit of a Last (Lost) Chance 5. The Winds of Change Notes Bibliography Index.