The Unilateralist Threat to Peace: the Rise of the Peace Movement

Abstract

Contrary to the opinion which is currently held by many political elites, much academic opinion throughout Europe and the Peace Movements alike, the Soviet threat to the Western liberal tradition of freedom and democracy is a real one. In 1980 alone, the Soviet Union built up its ICBM force by more than 200 and added to its stockpile of multi-targeted SS-20s. Soviet defence spending has increased by a steady 4% per year for the past ten years. Twelve to fourteen per cent of its gross national product is currently devoted to defence spending. In terms of conventional forces, the Soviet Union has three times as many divisions stationed in Western Europe as does the NATO alliance. And finally, behind all of this weaponry lies the conflict-ridden Marxist—Leninist ideology fired by a quest for security.