Did a "doctrine race" exist alongside the much-publicized arms competition between East and West? Using recent insights from organization theory, this book shows the answer is yes. Kimberly Marten Zisk challenges the standard portrayal of Soviet military officers as bureaucratic actors wedded to the status quo: when confronted by a changing external security environment, they reacted by producing innovative doctrine. The author's extensive evidence is drawn from newly declassified Soviet military journals, and from interviews with retired high-ranking Soviet General Staff officers and highly placed Soviet-Russian civilian defense experts.

According to Zisk, the Cold War in Europe was powerfully influenced by the reactions of Soviet military officers and civilian defense experts to modifications in U.S. and NATO military doctrine. She argues that, contrary to the expectations of many analysts, civilian intervention in military policymaking did not provoke pitched civil-military conflict: Under Gorbachev's leadership, for instance, great efforts were made to ensure that "defensive defense" policies reflected military officers' input and expertise. Engaging the Enemy makes an important contribution not only to the theory of military organizations and the history of Soviet military policy but also to current policy debates on East-West security issues.