Afghanistan and Gorbachev's Global Foreign Policy

Tad Daley

ResearchPublished 1989

By 1987, the prospects that the Soviet army would ever be able to leave Afghanistan in the hands of a secure client communist regime were becoming more and more remote. But the costs of withdrawal seemed too great to contemplate. However, the Gorbachev leadership's ambitious initiatives in both foreign and domestic policy made the costs of an indefinite military occupation even greater. The most important of these were (1) the obstacles that continued occupation would present to the leadership's abilities to generate popular support for its bold domestic reform program; and (2) the insurmountable barrier that an interminable occupation would pose to the leadership's efforts to create a more positive and trustworthy international image for the Soviet Union. It was only by ending the debacle in Afghanistan that the Gorbachev leadership could proceed with its dramatic attempt to maintain the Soviet Union as a major and relevant world power into the 21st century.

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  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 1989
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 18
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  • Document Number: OPS-015

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RAND Style Manual
Daley, Tad, Afghanistan and Gorbachev's Global Foreign Policy, RAND Corporation, OPS-015, 1989. As of September 4, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers-soviet/OPS015.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Daley, Tad, Afghanistan and Gorbachev's Global Foreign Policy. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1989. https://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers-soviet/OPS015.html. Also available in print form.
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