SOVIET IDEOLOGY AND SOVIET FOREIGN POLICY

In: World politics: a quarterly journal of international relations, Band 11, Heft 2, S. 153-172

Abstract

The debate on the role of the ideology on the determination of Soviet foreign policy has ranged from the views consigning the ideology to the realm of propaganda to the notion of a very direct relation between foreign policy decisions & specific points of Marxism-Leninism. While no rigid pattern can be established, the role of the ideology should not be underplayed. It gives the Soviet rulers a definite Weltanshauung & a degree of SE sophistication in their foreign policy dealings. From their own viewpoint the ideology has an almost: irrational connection to the preservation of their power. An examination of Soviet policy in the satellites between 1953-1958 shows how closely the considerations of power & ideology are interconnected & how tactical flexibility is still tempered by ideological considerations. While internally Marxism in Russia is less & less relevant to the problems of a modern industrial society, its foreign successes & influence become of increasing importance to the preservation of Communism in the USSR. Thus the task of `proving' their ideology is felt by the rulers to lie more & more in the foreign sphere. AA-IPSA.