Interpretations of Soviet foreign policy often rest on assumptions about Soviet perceptions of the United States. This article presents a method for inferring Soviet perceptions. The effort builds on theories that are related to the analysis of perception in foreign policy decision-making and complements other empirical studies of Soviet statements. The article analyzes Soviet images at two levels: (1) media coverage of four regional conflicts, and (2) Politburo speeches. The media analysis concentrates on four cases—the Horn of Africa 1977-1978, North and South Yemen 1979, Iran 1978-1979, and Afghanistan 1979. The Politburo speeches cover the era of détente 1971-1978. The article finds that the view of the United States that prevails in Moscow resembles a well-known enemy stereotype. The enemy imagery is found to prevail at both levels and indicates a significant perception of threat, and possibly the relevance of an “inherent bad faith” model.
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