This is an attempt to address the paradoxes of Soviet behaviour in the Horn of Africa.

List of maps; List of tables; Preface; List of abbreviations; Note on transliteration of Russian words; Introduction; 1. From intervention to disengagement: a framework; Part I. Motivational Aspects: 2. The evolution of a Soviet interest; 3. Entering the 1970s: the Soviet disposition; Part II. The Horn of Opportunity: 4. The budding alliance: Marx, Lenin and Mohammed; 5. The Ethiopian revolution and the quest for a Pax Sovietica; 6. war, realignment and the enforcement of proletarian internationalism; Conclusion; 7. Soviet power without influence?; Appendices; Notes; Bibliography; Index.