The Policy of new Thinking in the Changing World

Since 1985 when Mikhail Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union has undergone unprecedented change. As the end of the twentieth century approaches, it becomes clear that we will face a future considerably more international than ever believed possible in the past. Nuclear proliferation, regional conflicts, the energy crisis, world food shortages, and environmental problems threaten to involve us all Many of the previous distinctions between foreign and domestic policies have become artificial National interests can no longer be defined in strictly ideological terms. Nations with different ideological commitments must begin to cooperate to resolve common strategic, economic, humanitarian, and environmental concerns. Our world is becoming increasingly smaller and global interdependence has become a reality. As Rene Dubos, the 1969 Pulitzer Prize recipient once stated, “It becomes obvious that each of us has two countries, our own and the planet earth.†In our ever-changing world change is the one certainty. By the end of the century the Soviet Union will not exist in its present form, and politically the world will be very different in the future from what it is today. Today we face a different world and we must seek a different road to the future. This road must draw on the accumulated experience of yesterday, yet be fully aware of the fundamental differences between the circumstances of yesterday and those of today and tomorrow. This article contains a brief analytical exposition of the changes that have come about in Soviet foreign policy, its philosophy, and progress, which are a result of the evolving concept of new political thinking and the early steps towards putting this policy into practice. The article concludes with more specific information regarding arms control third world issues, humanitarian concerns, and political ecology.