New political thinking

1987–1990 USSR foreign policy philosophy

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This article is part of
a series about

Mikhail Gorbachev

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General Secretary

* General secretaryship
* Perestroika
* Uskorenie
* Glasnost
* Anti-alcohol campaign
* Chernobyl disaster
* Demokratizatsiya
* Law on Cooperatives
* Spitak earthquake
* Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan
* 1989 elections

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Presidency

* 1990 Election
* Assassination attempt
* Pavlov reform
* New Union Treaty
* August Coup
* Dissolution of the Soviet Union

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Foreign policy

* New thinking
* Murmansk Initiative
* Sinatra Doctrine
* International trips
* Summits
* Geneva
* Reykjavík
* Washington
* Moscow
* Governors Island
* Malta
* Helsinki
* Letter from Khomeini

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Post-leadership

* 1996 presidential campaign
* The Gorbachev Foundation
* Green Cross International
* Pizza Hut commercial
* Social Democratic Party of Russia
* Death and funeral

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New political thinking (Russian: Новое политическое мышление), or simply new thinking (Russian: Новое мышление)[a] was the doctrine put forth by Mikhail Gorbachev as part of his reforms of the Soviet Union. Its major elements were de-ideologization of international politics, abandoning the concept of class struggle, priority of universal human interests over the interests of any class, increasing interdependence of the world, and mutual security based on political rather than military instruments. The doctrine constituted a significant shift from the previous principles of the Soviet foreign politics.[2][3][4]

## History

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In 1987, Gorbachev published the book Perestroika and New Political Thinking;[5] in December 1988, he presented this doctrine of new thinking in his speech to the United Nations.[2][6] The concept of "new thinking" vital for the Soviet Union's attempt to end the costly competition of the Cold War in order for it to be able to continue the internal economic reforms of perestroika.[3]

Notable attempts to do this included the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the end of Soviet support for communist movements around the world. Gorbachev also loosened the Soviet Union's grip over Eastern Europe by replacing the Brezhnev Doctrine with the Sinatra Doctrine.[3]

In 1990, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for his leading role in the peace process".[7] The overall effect of these developments was the end of the Cold War, the breakdown of the Warsaw Pact, and ultimately the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[3]

## Notes

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1. ^ Gorbachev was known to often put an incorrect stress in words. As a notable peculiarity, Gorbachev pronounced the term as "но́вое полити́ческое мы́шление", while the common Russian stress is мышле́ние (contrary to speculations, Gorbachev's version of stress was also attested in dictionaries, but as a less common)[1]

## References

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1. ^ Мы́шление: как Михаил Горбачев изменил русский язык
2. ^ a b Holloway, David (1 February 1989). "Gorbachev's New Thinking | Foreign Affairs". www.foreignaffairs.com. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
3. ^ a b c d "Gorbachev and New Thinking in Soviet Foreign Policy, 1987-88". US Department of State. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
4. ^ "New Thinking: Foreign Policy under Gorbachev". countrystudies.us. US Library of Congress. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
5. ^ Горбачев М. С. Перестройка и новое мышление для нашей страны и всего мира — М.: ИПЛ, 1987
6. ^ Excerpts from the Address by Mikhail Gorbachev, 43rd U.N. General Assembly Session, December 7, 1988
7. ^ "Press release - The Nobel Peace Prize 1990". NobelPrize.org. Oslo: Nobel Prize. 15 October 1990. Retrieved 3 June 2025.

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