The Withering Away of the Totalitarian State...and other surprises
Washington, DC: The AEI Press, 1990. First printing [stated]. Hardcover. xi, [3], . 317, [5] pages. Appendix: A Chronology of Change. Signed by author on the title page. Jeane Duane Kirkpatrick (née Jordan; November 19, 1926 – December 7, 2006) was an American diplomat and political scientist who played a major policy role in the foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration. An ardent anticommunist, she was a longtime Democrat who became a neoconservative and switched to the Republican Party in 1985. After serving as Ronald Reagan's foreign policy adviser in his 1980 campaign, she became the first woman to serve as United States Ambassador to the United Nations. She was known for the "Kirkpatrick Doctrine", which advocated supporting authoritarian regimes around the world if they went along with Washington's aims. She believed that they could be led into democracy by example. She wrote, "traditional authoritarian governments are less repressive than revolutionary autocracies." She sympathized with the Argentine government during the Falklands War when President Reagan came out in support of Margaret Thatcher. Kirkpatrick served on Reagan's Cabinet on the National Security Council, Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, Defense Policy Review Board, and chaired the Secretary of Defense Commission on Fail Safe and Risk reduction of the Nuclear Command and Control System. She wrote a syndicated newspaper column after leaving government service in 1985, specializing in analysis of the activities of the United Nations. This was published for the American Enterprise Institute. These essays track the dramatic developments set in motion by the "perestroika revolution" of Mikhail Gorbachev, whose goal is the transformation of Soviet style communism from within. This collection does not simply recapitulate what happens but explains-step by step-which changes were important and why. They tell us when Gorbachev began to ask new questions and set new goals and what these mean for the foundations of Soviet power. The analysis reflects the author's realistic understanding of the Soviet state and ideology the legitimizes it, and also her broad personal experience with foreign leaders and foreign policy. Kirkpatrick was the first woman to serve as US representative to the UN. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: Sakharov, Gorbachev, Communism, Pluralism, Perestroika, Despotism, Human Rights, Contras, Reykjavik, Helmut Kohl, Savimbi, Duarte, Fidel Castro, Totalitarianism, Kremlin, Pluralism, Sakharov, Depotism
ISBN: 9780844737270
[Book #65731]
Price: $100.00