Khrushchev's Double Bind

How do world leaders manage the competing priorities of maintaining support at home and credibility in the international arena? In "Khrushchev's Double Bind" James Richter explores this conflict by examining the case of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Richter argues that, in order to hold power and pursue his political agenda at home, Khrushchev needed to maintain his standing as an effective world leader. His successes - especially in winning concessions from the United States - contributed to his power base and ability to grant favours and effect change in the Soviet Union. Likewise, the more support he gained from Soviet colleagues, the better he could influence international affairs and increase the USSR's prestige. Richter explores ways in which certain images of the international environment became entrenched in the USSR's domestic institutions, furnished the backdrop for international actions meant to gain domestic support, and provided the standards by which the success or failure of competing strategies would be judged.
This book makes use of recent disclosures in the Russian archives, and offers new perspectives on the interaction of international events and domestic bargaining in Soviet foreign policy-making during the 1950s and early 1960s.