Soviet Foreign Policy and the Invasion of Czechoslovakia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9937675 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard Davy (0000-0001-9639-5980, Assistant foreign editor, The Times, London, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1978 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 796 |
| Publication date | 1978-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal Canada s Journal of Global Policy Analysis (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7020 • E-ISSN: 2052-465X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2307/40201690 |
| OpenAlex | W4234798780, W2335545755 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 9 |
When the Russians invaded Czechoslovakia they thought they were propping up the status quo in order to prevent change. In fact they merely set in motion change of a different sort, creating new problems for themselves and the West. The invasion left the situation in Europe significantly altered. It has bequeathed to Europe an impasse in EastWest relations to which neither side can find a constructive response. Far from making Europe more stable it may turn out to have blocked one of the more hopeful roads to greater stability. The Russians invaded because they feared that Mr Dub£ek would lose control of his country and allow it to slide out of the Warsaw pact, thereby upsetting the balance of power on which European security has rested since the war. To prevent this they were prepared to pay practically any price. According to several accounts they were even prepared to risk a third world war. Zdenek Mlynir, in his new book, says that Mr Brezhnev confirmed this to the captive Czechoslovak leaders in Moscow after the invasion.1 In June the following year Vasil Bil'ak (admittedly not the most reliable witness) made the same point at a meeting, saying that the Russians 'told us in Moscow in May that we must realize that they would never let Czechoslovakia go even if it meant risking some kind of a third world war.'2
Economics · Foreign policy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Eastern European Communism and Reforms · Law · Polish Historical and Cultural Studies
| Highly cited | No |
|---|