Peaceful co-existence : an analysis of Soviet foreign policy

The second greatest industrial world Power, one of the three nuclear Powers, and the center of a widespread ideological move ment, the USSR has pursued a dynamic foreign policy which constantly calls for appropriate readjustments in the foreign policies of other na tions. Its exclusive ideology cannot be reconciled with the vast array of opinions held by non-Communists. Nationals of non-Communist coun tries (and they represent two-thirds of mankind)-Western, Asian, Afri can, Near Eastern, Latin American, West-committed, and uncommitted nations support a wide range of beliefs, and among them are found po litical democrats and authoritarians of all possible shades other than the Communist type, socialists, conservatives, religious believers, agnostics, and atheists. All of these people, whatever their nationality and belief, have a common goal: they wish to preserve their ideals and their ways of social life, and they do not intend to surrender them to foreign encroachments. All face the challenge of Communism, both at home, in the person of Communists among their own countrymen, and abroad, in the diplomatic relations of their respective countries with the Soviet-Chinese bloc.

Soviet foreign policy and the Communist ideological drive rest solidly on impressive power potentials. First, there are the economic and, in particu lar, the industrial potentials, and these, in turn, are the foundations of the military potential. And there is the nuclear potential, in which respect the Soviet Union is on a par with the United States. Finally, there is the psycho logical potential, which is reflected in the political prestige that surrounds power in international politics, making it possible for the USSR to influ ence the foreign policies of other countries by taking advantage of their respect for, or the fear of, Soviet military might.