Its major elements were de-ideologization of international politics, abandoning the concept of class struggle, priority of universal human interests over the interests of any class, increasing interdependence of the world, and mutual security based on political rather than military instruments.
The doctrine constituted a significant shift from the previous principles of the Soviet foreign politics.
[2][6] The "new thinking" was of vital necessity for the Soviet Union to shut down the costly Cold War competition in order to continue the internal economic reforms of perestroika.
[3] Notable steps in this direction included the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, end of support of communist movements around the world and loosened the Soviet grip over Eastern Europe by replacing the Brezhnev Doctrine with the Sinatra Doctrine.
The overall effect of these developments was the end of the Cold War and the breakdown of the Warsaw Pact and ultimately of the Soviet Union itself.