This is a case study of Soviet foreign policy towards a Third World regional conflict over the past 40 years, from the Stalin era to the advent of the Gorbachev ear. While dealing at length with the Cold War, d?tente and post-d?tente phases of Soviet involvement in the Arab-Israeli conflict, some perennial questions relating to the nature and conduct of Soviet foreign policy have been poignantly addressed. The theme of its progressive de-radicalization and eventual de-ideologization has been brought into bold relief. There is thus very little evidence to suggest that in this area the USSR has been consistently acting from an ideological grand design. Rather, its diplomacy most often appears to be reactive to events and responsive to opportunities. Soviet policy in this region appears to be conservative, ambivalent, shifting and compromising, rather than an adventurist or overtly revisionist policy. This synoptic but closely reasoned and lucidly written book will provide the reader with deep insights into the interventionist behaviour of a super-power in a Third World regional setting.
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