This book aims to bring together American and West German scholars in order to analyze U.S., German, and Soviet elite perceptions of East-West conflict. It attempts to assess the policy implications and political options for the West.

Foreword -- Preface -- Introduction: Perceptions and Conflict -- Western Attitudes Toward the Soviet Union: Perceptions and Misperceptions -- Learning in East-West Relations: The Superpowers as Habit-Driven Actors -- What Are the Russians Up to Now: The Beliefs of American Leaders About the Soviet Union and Soviet-American Relations, 1976-1984 -- FRG Perceptions of the Soviet Threat -- Gorbachev's America Problem -- Soviet Perceptions of the Federal Republic of Germany -- The German Question from an East European Perspective -- West German Foreign Policy and the Bifurcation of the Western Security Regime -- On the Potential for Forging a U.S.-FRG Policy Consensus Vis-à-Vis the Soviet Union