Marxist-Leninist ideology, Soviet foreign policy and the structure of the international system of states

This work presents the examination of the relationship between Marxist-Leninist ideology and Soviet foreign policy in the context of the contemporary structure of the international system of states. To what degree official ideology of a state shapes the course of foreign policy pursued by that state? How does the structural influence of the international system affect a state's international behaviour? What happens if the ideological "foreign policy blueprint" comes into conflict with the requirements dictated by the structure of the international system?;This work will attempt to provide answers to these questions and to outline how structural constraints imposed on Soviet international behaviour diminished the role of Marxist-Leninist ideology as a determinant of Soviet foreign policy to negligible proportions. It will demonstrate that, far from being "unorthodox" and "unique", Soviet foreign policy was governed by the same principles as policies of other states-members of the contemporary international system.