War,Militarism and the Soviet State *

Abstract

This paper surveys the obstacles to disarmament in the Soviet Union, and analyses both internal and external factors of Soviet militarism, the role of Russian political/military tradition, and the centrality of the defense sector to Soviet society. Although the sources of militarism are strong, the author argues that they are not absolute, and that there is scope for demilitarization initiatives. Most of the demilitarizing tendencies will come from internal influences and the working out of internal contradictions, such as that between declining economic growth and an increased military burden. Nevertheless, the West should not foreclose through their own policies the possibility of Soviet moves toward disarmament.