Crafting A U.S. Response to an Eastern Europe in Turmoil

Publication Date: August 1988

Publisher: Heritage Foundation (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s): Vladimir Tismaneanu

Research Area: Government

Keywords: Europe

Type: Report

Coverage: Soviet Union

Abstract:

Under Gorbachev no less than under his predecessors, the Soviet treatment of Eastern Europe is inspired by imperial considerations. The Kremlin will allow reformism to develop in Eastern Europe only in so far as it does not endanger the current geopolitical situation.
But new political forces have emerged in Eastern Europe which refuse to accept the old rules of the game. They boldly question the communist elites' historical credentials and proclaim the right of society to organize itself as independent, free, and self-governing. These ideas are similar to those of the American Revolution. This new situation calls for the U.S. to pursue an active and dynamic policy toward the countries of Eastern Europe.