The Soviet Objective of War Termination: Limits and Constraints

Abstract

This abstract discusses the objectives of war termination from the perspective of the Soviet Union. Specifically, considerations relating to the possibility of limited Soviet objectives for terminating a war are analyzed. A possible future war in Europe is the primary example; it is argued that the political and military dissolution of NATO and the decoupling of U.S. military power from the continent might be sufficient Soviet conditions for seeking war termination. The hypothesis that the USSR would prefer to fight a conventional war (and avoid nuclear weapons) is examined as is the Soviet need to maintain cohesion within the Warsaw Pact. It is concluded that the limits of conventional warfare and the constraints of alliance dynamics could interact in Soviet strategy to limit objectives for terminating a future war in Europe. An appendix supplements and contrasts the thesis text by reviewing Western views on war termination. Theses.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1988
Accession Number
ADA200439

Entities

People

  • James A. Pelkofski

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Command And Control
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Foreign Relations
  • Geography
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Military History
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Sociopolitics
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Strategic Security Studies