SOVIET FOREIGN POLICY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SINO-AMERICAN RELATIONS: A STUDY OF COMMUNIST SPOKESMEN'S WORLD VIEW AND THE MOTIVATION OF THE U.S.S.R.'S POLICIES TOWARD THE U.S.A., THE P.R.C., AND THE F.R.G., 1967-1980

This study examines Soviet policy toward the U.S.A., the F.R.G., and the P.R.C. in an era defined by Sino-American rapprochement. A conceptual scheme for the study of foreign policy is developed and then applied in a case study of Soviet foreign policy. This conceptual scheme focuses special attention on the attribution of motivation and draws on perceptual theory to guide the inference process. The case study of Soviet foreign policy concentrates on three time periods, 1967, 1972, 1979-1980, and seeks to identify trends in Soviet perceptions and policies that might correlate in time with the development of Sino-American rapprochement.;The study finds that over the period examined, 1967-1980, Soviet policy is most appropriately attributed to defensive motives rather than to expansionism or cautious opportunism, and suggests American policies designed to reinforce the containment of the U.S.S.R. may in strategic terms be counterproductive. The author additionally suggests that the attribution of motivation in the analysis of foreign policy should become a scholarly task which is as seriously and as carefully conducted as is the calculation of relative capability.;In each time period the study presents a brief historical chronicle designed to set the political scene and to provide a description of the situation and views prevailing in Washington, Peking, and Bonn. The chronicle additionally updates the Soviet Union's foreign policy across the interim between the time periods of detailed study. Following this chronicle the study for each time period includes a lengthy survey of the world view of one section of the Soviet elite and a careful examination of the strategic actions of the U.S.S.R. The study of world view incorporates an analysis of the description of the U.S.A., the P.R.C., and the F.R.G. appearing in a defined section of the official Soviet media. The study of the U.S.S.R.'s strategic actions (summarized in a postulated concept labelled prevailing view) relies on a wide range of sources and is based on identifiable policy commitment. With respect to the U.S.S.R.'s action vis-a-vis the U.S.A. Soviet policy commitments in strategic weapon systems, Central Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia are investigated. With regard to the U.S.S.R.'s actions vis-a-vis the P.R.C. Soviet policy commitments in Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Northeast Asia are investigated.