Perestroika: The End Game

our practical relations with the Soviet Union must be based upon a clear understanding of the goals of perestroika and a high degree of confidence that consistency exists between Gorbachevs declaratory policy and the actions, or operational policy, of the Soviet Union. A key aspect of this analysis is the increasingly more certain assumption that the revolutionary changes that have been taking place in the Soviet Union and most particularly in Eastern Europe have been the logical consequences of deliberate Soviet policy decisions designed to encourage critical thinking and democratization. Gorbachev is attempting to use theoretical Marxism-Leninism to justify his actions and as such has proscribed a rather broad axis of advance for perestroika. As long as Gorbachev continues to adhere to this policy of justification, his actions--even the seemingly most doctrinally divergent ones--are limited by at least the fundamental tenets of the doctrine. The purpose of this commentary, therefore, is to suggest that Gorbachev has had a grand plan--regardless of the day-to-day control he is able to exert over that plan--and to look for support for the thesis that Gorbachevs plan is justifiable in Marxist-Leninist doctrine.