Brzezinski's image of the USSR: Inferring foreign policy beliefs from multiple sources over time (Zbigniew Brzezinski)

The dissertation analyzes Brzezinski's image formation & evolution vis-a-vis the Soviet Union, utilizing a political psychological approach---particularly the cognitive perspective. This is done since controversy surrounds Brzezinski's image of the USSR in terms of "hawkish" vs. "dovish"---upon entering office as well as the extent of change in his beliefs during office. The study thus pursues the following four research questions: (1) What contribution can political psychology and cognition make to elucidate image formation/evolution of foreign policymakers, and how? (2) What was Brzezinski's image of the Soviet Union when he entered office, and why? (where did his foreign policy beliefs come from?) (3) To what extent did Brzezinski's foreign policy beliefs toward the USSR change over time (before and especially during office), and why? (4) What are the implications of using different sources to infer Brzezinski's image of the Soviet Union, as well as the implications of inferring from different sources at different points in time?; The dissertation pursues these research questions by examining Brzezinski's background as well as conducting a qualitative thematic content analysis of multiple sources (public and nonpublic) by and about Brzezinski over time (before, during, and after office), including case studies of SALT and normalization of relations with China. The above analyses also shed light on the Carter administration's foreign policy and policy process.