Under which doctrine did Gorbachev allow Eastern European countries to determine their own internal affairs?

• A. Truman Doctrine
• B. Brezhnev Doctrine
• C. Monroe Doctrine
• D. Sinatra Doctrine

Answer: (D)

Gorbachev’s policy shift was to stop enforcing Soviet control over Eastern Europe’s internal affairs and let each country decide its own path. This is captured by the Sinatra Doctrine, the idea that Eastern European states could “do it their own way” rather than face Moscow-led intervention. It contrasts with the Brezhnev Doctrine, which asserted the USSR’s right to intervene to preserve communist regimes. The other options don’t fit this change: the Monroe Doctrine dealt with the Americas, and the Truman Doctrine aimed at containing communism globally after World War II. The Sinatra Doctrine explains why Eastern European countries moved toward their own reforms and, ultimately, their own revolutions.