The Soviet Union and Northern Europe: New Thinking and Old Security Constraints

Abstract

This article argues that the interdependence and traditional stability of Northern Europe make it an excellent arena for the Soviet foreign policy of New Thinking. For most of the postwar period, the situation in the Nordic region, according to the Soviet perspective, has been satisfactory if not ideal. In the 1980s, the U.S. naval response to the Soviet strategic buildup on the Kola Peninsula brought increasing instability to the region, a major challenge to Soviet foreign policy. New Thinking attempts to manage current problems through a comprehensive set of security, economic, and environmental initiatives. The article concludes that New Thinking was probably oversold, as Soviet foreign policy has had little success with the intractable security issues in the region. Soviet diplomacy in Northern Europe presents insights into Gorbachev's policy of a common European home, however.