This study is the result of a four-year project led by a team at the Royal Institute of International Affairs. Focusing on three East Asian and three East European states, it looks at why and how communist states reform their foreign policy as they open to the outside world. It also aims to cast light on the broader question of the linkage of domestic and foreign policies and to examine ways in which states can cope with increased international interdependence. The book looks in detail at the different kinds of reforms implemented by European and Asian communists. It attempts to explain why some communist regimes collapsed and why, since the European revolutions of 1989-1991, the rule of communist parties has been confined largely to Asia. The analysis is based on contributions from international experts. It focuses on six countries: the Soviet Union, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, China, Vietnam and the People's Democratic Republic of Korea, covering reforms of economic and defence policy as well as ideology and the patterns of cultural and communications policy.