Moscow and the Middle East: Soviet Policy Since the Invasion of Afghanistan PDF
Preview Moscow and the Middle East: Soviet Policy Since the Invasion of Afghanistan
In this important student text, Professor Freedman provides an exhaustive account of Soviet policy in the Middle East from the invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 to withdrawal from the country ten years later. Following an introductory chapter which views the period from World War II to the invasion, Robert Freedman examines policy motives and outcomes in a broadly chronological approach. Specific and detailed attention is paid to Soviet policy towards the Iran-Iraq war, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and intra-Arab policies. Throughout, Professor Freedman compares the policies of Gorbachev with those of his predecessors - Brezhnev, Chernenko, and Andropov. He concludes that continuity, not change, has characterized recent Soviet policy toward the Middle East. This can be seen, for example, in Soviet plans for a settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, in Soviet unwillingness to use military force to challenge either Israeli or American activities, and in the Soviet position on the Iran-Iraq war. However, as Robert Freedman observes, the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, its sharp improvement of relations with Egypt, and the moderation of its relations with Israel, may represent a policy change which could be built upon in the future. Moscow and the Middle East is based on a wealth of documentation. This includes interviews with Middle East politicians and government officials, Middle East and Soviet newspapers, speeches and statements of Soviet govern ment ministers and official Moscow radio broadcasts in the Arab world. This book will provide students of Soviet foreign policy, the Middle East and inter national relations with an invaluable textbook. It will also prove an essential reference source for government officials and policy analysts. Moscow and the Middle East MOSCOW AND THE MIDDLE EAST Soviet policy since the invasion of Afghanistan Robert O. Freedman Peggy Meyerhoff Pearlstone Professor of Political Science and Dean of Graduate Studies Baltimore Hebrew University The right of the University of Cambridge to print and sell all manner of books was granted by Henry VIII In 1334. The University has printed and published continuously since 1384. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge New York Port Chester Melbourne Sydney Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge The Pitt Building, Trompington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RP 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011, USA 10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia © Cambridge University Press 1991 First published 1991 Printed in Great Britain at the University Press, Cambridge British Library cataloguing in publication data Freedman, Robert O. (Robert Owen) Moscow and the Middle East: Soviet policy since the invasion of Afganistan. 1. Soviet Union. Foreign relations with Middle East I. Title 327.47056 Library of Congress cataloguing in publication data Freedman, Robert Owen. Moscow and the Middle East: Soviet policy since the invasion of Afghanistan / Robert O. Freedman, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-521-35184-7. ISBN 0-521-35976-7 (pbk) 1. Middle East - Foreign relations - Soviet Union. 2. Soviet Union ■ Foreign relations - Middle East. 3. Soviet Union - Foreign relations - 1975-1985. 4. Soviet Union - Foreign relations -1985- I. Title. DS63.2.S65F72 1991 327.47056 dc20 90 31056 CIP ISBN 0 521 35184 7 hardback ISBN 0 521 35976 7 paperback For Sharon, with love Contents Preface page xi Introduction 1 1 On the eve: Soviet policy toward the Middle East from World War II until the invasion of Afghanistan 15 2 Soviet policy from the invasion of Afghanistan until the death of Brezhnev 71 3 The interregnum: Moscow and the Middle East under Andropov and Chernenko 148 4 Moscow and the Middle East under Gorbachev: new thinking in theory and practice 205 5 Conclusion: continuity and change in Soviet policy toward the Middle East 317 Notes 339 Bibliography 399 Index 416
Description:The list of books you might like
