U.S.-Soviet Relations and Nuclear-Risk Reduction

Abstract

Since the decline of detente in the 1970s, there has been an increase in public concern about the U.S.-Soviet relations and the risk of nuclear war. This is not the first time that public concern has been aroused, nor is it likely to be the last time. Managing relations with the USSR has never been easy for the United States. One reason is the Soviet Union itself. The marriage of the old Russian empire and a universalistic ideology has produced a state that sometimes looks like a traditional great power and sometimes like an expansionist revolutionary power. A repressive and secretive political system frustrates efforts to fathom Soviet intentions. It is small wonder then that Americans often have divided views about the nature of their principal opponent. Even lifelong experts do not agree about the nature of the Soviet state and its goals. Although-the Soviet Union will remain an enigma, its nuclear capability remains an inescapable fact, and there is broad public concern over whether we can manage the relationship in a manner that reduces the risk of nuclear war.