The current debate over Soviet defense policy

Josephine J. Bonan

Expert InsightsPublished 1989

The dramatic changes that Mikhail Gorbachev has brought to the content and conduct of Soviet foreign policy in the form of "new political thinking" have profound implications for the West. This paper analyzes Gorbachev's policies on national security issues. It includes a brief overview of new political thinking, including its goals, origins, and the elements it comprises; discusses the emerging role of Soviet civilian defense analysts in the formulation of Soviet defense policy; and considers both the strategic nuclear and theater conventional dimensions of "reasonable sufficiency." It also analyzes in depth the particularly contentious issues that civilian defense analysts and the professional military are currently debating. It concludes with some observations about the implications of new political thinking for the West.

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1989
  • Pages: 28
  • Document Number: P-7526

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Bonan, Josephine J., The current debate over Soviet defense policy. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1989. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P7526.html.
BibTeX RIS

This publication is part of the RAND paper series. The paper series was a product of RAND from 1948 to 2003 that captured speeches, memorials, and derivative research, usually prepared on authors' own time and meant to be the scholarly or scientific contribution of individual authors to their professional fields. Papers were less formal than reports and did not require rigorous peer review.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.