IP-13- 89 (December 1989)
Author: John K. Andrews, Jr.

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Introduction: About That Article of Faith

Whether or not events of the 1990s bear out the fashionable assumption that the Cold War is over, with the passing of the 1980s we are clearly entering a period when America’s relationship with the Soviet Union will be closer, more routine, and more diversified that ever before. This will mean not only greater engagement at the government level, but also a dizzying expansion of non-government contacts.

In Colorado, just to take the example with which we at the Independence Institute are most familiar, some sort of delegation or business exploration trip is now heading for the USSR every few days. Certain Colorado political leaders and opinion makers are promoting trade ties, sister-city links, professional exchanges, and citizen diplomacy in giddy profusion.

In this mood, which is becoming pervasive, sophisticated calculation of the dynamics and risks of Soviet reform no longer counts for much. As an influential university dean in Denver has been exhorting his audiences since returning from Moscow and Leningrad last summer, “Helping Gorbachev is an article of faith.”