Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumThe End of the Cold War

"It is obvious, for instance, that force and the threat of force cannot be and should not be an instrument of foreign policy... This applies both to the nuclear option and to all others... We are not abandoning our convictions, our philosophy, or our relations... but we do not intend to lock ourselves up in a cocoon of our dogmas... The restructuring (perestroika) in our country is moving forward..."
— Mikhail Gorbachev, Address to the United Nations General Assembly, December 7, 1988

Which of the following historical developments in the late 1980s and early 1990s was a direct consequence of the foreign policy shift described in the excerpt?

  1. The collapse of Soviet political control over Eastern European satellite nationsAnswer
  2. B
    A dramatic escalation in United States defense spending and military buildup
  3. C
    The initial establishment of containment policies in Western Europe
  4. D
    The adoption of supply-side economic policies by Soviet-aligned states

Answer

The collapse of Soviet political control over Eastern European satellite nations
The correct answer is correct because Mikhail Gorbachev's address to the United Nations in 1988 signaled the formal abandonment of the Brezhnev Doctrine, which had previously asserted the Soviet Union's right to intervene militarily in any socialist state to preserve communist rule. By stating that force should no longer be an instrument of foreign policy, Gorbachev cleared the way for democratic movements in Eastern European satellite nations to challenge their communist governments, leading directly to the collapse of Soviet control across the region in 1989.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus document for key foreign policy arguments and historical context.
Gorbachev's 1988 speech asserts that the threat or use of force should no longer be an instrument of foreign policy, signaling a retreat from the Brezhnev Doctrine, which had previously justified Soviet military intervention to maintain control over socialist states.
Understanding the core message of the stimulus allows the student to identify what policy shift is being described.
2
Connect Gorbachev's policy shift (non-intervention and perestroika) to the events of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The renunciation of force meant the Soviet Union would not send troops to suppress domestic uprisings in Eastern Europe, which directly enabled the peaceful overthrow of communist regimes in nations like Poland, Hungary, and East Germany in 1989.
This establishes the direct cause-and-effect relationship required by the question.
3
Evaluate the options to find the one that matches this historical consequence.
The option describing the collapse of Soviet control over Eastern European satellite nations matches the analysis, while the other options represent incorrect chronological periods or misinterpretations of economic and defense policies.
This confirms the correct option while eliminating distractors based on historical accuracy.

Key Concept

The End of the Cold War
Rate this question

Topics

The End of the Cold War

More questions from this topic