Perestroika is the first to bring together European and Japanese specialists on the USSR to examine the revolutionary changes taking place in Soviet domestic and foreign policy. It focuses on assessing the roots, scope, depth and dynamics of change. The detailed analysis of foreign and domestic policy change is set against an examination of the historical context of perestroika and the headway made towards civil society and political democracy. It will offer the reader with a uniquely rich set of insights on the remarkable changes perestroika has brought to the USSR