Exploiting 'Fault Lines' in the Soviet Empire: An Overview,
Abstract
The failure of the NATO alliance to keep pace with the growth of Soviet and Warsaw Pact military power has prompted discussion in the West of alternative approaches to security in Europe. A small but influential group of American specialists argues that NATO could strengthen its position relative to the Pact by exploiting the vulnerability of the Soviet 'empire' to fragmentation along national, ethnic, or other lines. In peacetime, the United States and Western Europe could further their security interests by challenging the Soviet hold on Eastern Europe and seeking to split the USSR from its allies. In wartime, NATO could pursue a counteroffensive strategy aimed at terminating the war on the Soviet-Polish and Soviet-Czechoslovak borders. By announcing a counteroffensive strategy and acquiring the capability to implement it, these experts argue, NATO would improve its deterrent against conventional or nuclear war in Europe. These strategies for political offensives and military counteroffensives are based on the premise that the fault lines or cleavages within the Soviet empire can be identified and exploited. This paper examines this premise and its implications. It looks at the various intra-empire cleavages and analyzes their suitability for use in NATO political and military strategy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1984
- Accession Number
- ADA152586
Entities
People
- J. Van Oudenaren
Organizations
- RAND Corporation