Book Reviews : Peaceful Co-Existence: An Analysis of Soviet Foreign Policy. By WLADYSLAW W. KULSKI. (Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1959. Pp. xxi, 662. $12.50.)

• Author: Richard C. Gripp
• Published date: 01 June 1960
• Date: 01 June 1960
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/106591296001300234
• Subject Matter: Articles

541

relations

could

contribute

so

little.

As

the

preface

so

truthfully

points

out

we

live

&dquo;in

a

world

characterized

by

a

radical

departure

from

the

past,

and

at

the

same

time,

a

radical

interconnection

and

interdependence

of

one

part

of

the

world

with

another.&dquo;

This

is

the

time

to

challenge

accepted

generalizations

and

to

search

for

new

hypotheses,

new

insights,

and

new

approaches

and

method-

ologies.

From

this

volume

it

would

appear

instead

that

the

discipline

has

come

full

circle.

For

example,

Jacques

de

Bourbon-Busset

in

his

article

summarizing

the

problems

of

decision-making

in

foreign

policy

renews

the

Platonic

suggestion

of

a

&dquo;supranational

council

of

wise

men

that

would

express

the

people’s

con-

science.&dquo;

Short

of

this

he

urges

a

&dquo;deep

and

clear

agreement

among

free

men

on

some

fundamental

Christian

principles,

such

as

the

dignity

of

man.&dquo;

Is

it

possible

that

Raymond

J.

Sontag’s

description

of

the

plight

of

the

diplomatist

is

also

that

of

the

scholar

of

international

relations:

&dquo;Chastened

by

his

knowledge

of

history,

and

of

the

contemporary

world,

the

diplomatist

of

the

early

twentieth

century

could

report

and

recommend

courses

of

action,

tentatively

to

be

sure,

but

with

tranquillity

of

spirit.

In

an

atmosphere

of

recrimination

and

suspicion,

tran-

quillity

undoubtedly

disappears,

but

the

more

courageous

will

continue

their

task

unafraid.

But

courage

may

well

fail

in

face

of

the

last

of

the

changes

of

the

recent

past,

the

changes

in

the

nature

of

warfare.&dquo;

DAVID

T.

CATTELL

University

of

California,

Los

Angeles

Peaceful

Co-Existence:

An

Analysis

of

Soviet

Foreign

Policy.

By

WLADYSLAW

W.

KULSKI.

(Chicago:

Henry

Regnery

Company,

1959.

Pp.

xxi,

662.

$12.50.)

Professor

Kulski

sets

out

to

study

Soviet

foreign

policy

in

toto

since

1917.

His

technique

is

to

begin

with

appropriate

statements

from

Lenin,

then

to

dissect

for

analysis

each

successive

layer

of

Russian

foreign

affairs,

continuing

the

ex-

amination

to

the

present

time.

It

is

possible,

Kulski

believes,

to

follow

a

consist-

ent

pattern

of

analysis

chiefly

because

the

objectives

of

Soviet

policy

over

the

years

have

remained

unchanged.

From

the

premise

that

Soviet

leaders

are

motivated

by

two

basic

considera-

tions,

adherence

to

the

ideological

mission

of

spreading

communism,

and

a na-

tionalistic

devotion

to

the

Soviet

Union,

Kulski

sums

up

the

immutable

objectives

of

the

leadership.

They

include

avoidance

of

full-scale

nuclear

war,

if

at

all

possible,

defense

(at

any

price)

of

the

Soviet

portion

of

the

present

international

status

quo,

and

encouragement

of

the

gradual,

nonviolent

growth

of

communism

into

the

noncommunist

world.

The

modus

operandi

is

peaceful

co-existence:

the

absence

of

a

hot

war,

with

continuance

of

the

cold

war

as

reflected

in

the

ideological,

political,

and

economic

struggle

between

the

two

camps.

Proceeding

from

a

theoretical

treatment

of

communism,

the

author

takes

up

varied

subjects

such

as

communist

morality

(which

is

&dquo;bad&dquo;

because

it

is

relative,

as

contrasted

with

the

&dquo;good&dquo;

absolutism

of

western

morality),

strategy

and

tactics,

the

concept

of

the

two

camps,

and

nationality

doctrine.

The

Russian