Soviet Perceptions of War and Peace,
Abstract
In 1835 Alexis de Tocqueville predicted that America and Russia were 'marked out by the will of heaven to sway the destinies of half the globe,' with the Russians using 'the authority of society in a single arm' and the Americans relying 'upon personal interest (and) freedom.' De Tocqueville was amazingly prescient. A century and a half later the two nations are the most powerful militarily and the most opposed ideologically; each having a different view of an ideal world order and each perceiving the other as a national security threat. As the authors in this volume suggest, the perceptions one nation has of another must be studied. Soviet perceptions of their political and military imperatives and of US intentions and military force posture directly affect Soviet force developments and deployments. Should the Soviet Union misperceive the intentions of the United States, war could occur through miscalculation or error. Therefore, to the extent that Soviet perceptions of war and peace are understood in the United States, the better able we will be to manage the US-Soviet relationship and forestall the possibility of conflict through misunderstanding.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA118148
Entities
People
- Graham D. Vernon
Organizations
- National Defense University