'Europe is our Common Home': A Study of Gorbachev's Diplomatic Concept

First introduced as an image for propaganda, the concept of a 'Common European Home' became in 1986 part of Gorbachevian New Thinking and eventually came to represent a new diplomatic architecture for Europe. Beyond this diplomatic dimension, it also involved the Utopia of a new European civilization, which triggered a vivid debate in Russian society, inducing elites and opinion to reflect on their identity. On the diplomatic scene however, except for the 1987 and 1990 agreements, it brought no concrete accomplishments - Mitterrand's project of confederation failed- illustrating the difficulty for West and Central Europeans in sharing a vision of a common future.