"This report analyzes the reassessment of policy toward the Third World that has been taking place in high Soviet leadership circles since the end of the Brezhnev era. It is divided into two main parts: (1) a survey of the theoretical discussion that has been taking place in speeches by Soviet leaders, official statements, articles in journals specializing in Third World issues, and elsewhere; and (2) a comparison of what the Soviets have been saying about the Third World with their actual behavior over the same time period, and a discussion of the potential consequences of the current reassessment for future Soviet policy. The report identifies three primary themes running through recent Soviet discussions of the Third World, all of which imply the need for a retrenchment from the activist policies of the mid- to late 1970s: (1) the pressure of economic constraints and the need to attend to the Soviet Union's own economic development; (2) an awareness of the damaging effect of past Soviet Third World activities on U.S.-Soviet relations, and the fact that increased superpower tension inhibits Moscow's ability to support progressive forces in the Third World; and (3) a critique of the Marxist-Leninist vanguard party as a solution to the problem of securing long-term influence in the Third World."--Rand Abstracts.

The description for this book, Moscow's Third World Strategy, will be forthcoming.

This book explores the scope of Moscow's "new thinking" in its Third World context—highlighted by the USSR's surprising withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1988. It reviews the foreign policy record Gorbachev inherited and assesses his economic and strategic priorities in the diplomatic arena.

Gorbachev's Third World Dilemmas (1989) examines the strategic, political and ideological criteria which shaped Soviet policies toward the developing world. Organized around particular themes and issues, it pays attention to both theoretical fundamentals in Soviet doctrine and to Soviet actions in specific regions. The topics range widely and include: the Soviet conception of regional security; Soviet arms transfers and military aid to the developing world; the developing world in Soviet military thinking; the USSR and crisis in the Caribbean; Soviet policy towards Southern Africa, notably Angola and Mozambique; and Soviet policy towards Southwest Africa. It looks at the activist foreign policy that Gorbachev inherited, and explores the elements of change and continuity that Gorbachev and the Soviets faced.

This book examines the crucial role that Soviet policy toward the Third World played in Soviet efforts to influence the development of the international system in competition with the United States. It traces the evolution of Soviet policy toward the Third World.

This book looks at the role the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev's leadership played in providing assistance to Marxist revolutionaries.