1991 Reports

Sovietology and Perestroika: Methodology and Lessons from the Past

Fleron Jr., Frederic J.; Hoffman, Erik P.

It is somewhat ironic that in 1969, the same year that the Institute of the World Economy and International Relations (MEMO) in Moscow convened a roundtable conference to discuss general methodological issues and the relevance of Western social science approaches such as game theory for the Soviet study of international relations, there appeared in the West the first collection of essays explaining, advocating, and demonstrating the application of Western social science concepts, theory, and methodology for an understanding of Soviet politics and international behavior. The title of that book was Communist Studies and the Social Sciences: Essays on Methodology and Empirical Theory, and it even included a chapter on game theory.