The Debate about Soviet Military Doctrine and Forces

Abstract

This paper first describes the principal sources available in the Soviet literature to researchers of security issues. It then identifies seven elements of military affairs that are currently the subject of debate within the Soviet Union. These topics are: Soviet grand strategy; Strategic nuclear policy; Theater conventional policy; The preferred organizational principle for the Soviet military; Reform within the military and factors influencing this reform; Economic considerations in defense policy, especially defense conversion efforts; and The ability of glasnost' to penetrate military affairs. It is clear that the Soviet security debate is designed not merely for Western consumption and for the purposes of influencing the West, but rather is integrally interconnected with the process of reform in the Soviet Union itself.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA228382

Entities

People

  • Kent D. Lee
  • Robbin F. Laird
  • Susan L. Clark

Organizations

  • Institute for Defense Analyses

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Doctrine
  • Economic Systems
  • International Relations
  • Military Budgets
  • Military Doctrine
  • Military History
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Military Training
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Political Systems
  • Recreation
  • Strategic Weapons
  • Students
  • Ussr
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Strategic Security Studies
  • Systems Analysis and Design