The Strategic Defense Initiative and the End of the Cold War: SDI, Star Wars, President Reagan, Fall of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev, KAL 007, MAD Nuclear Policy, Teller, ABM Treaty, Reykjavik Summit

Nonfiction, History, Military, Nuclear Warfare
Cover of the book The Strategic Defense Initiative and the End of the Cold War: SDI, Star Wars, President Reagan, Fall of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev, KAL 007, MAD Nuclear Policy, Teller, ABM Treaty, Reykjavik Summit by Progressive Management, Progressive Management
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Progressive Management ISBN: 9781311960030
Publisher: Progressive Management Publication: May 29, 2014
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: Progressive Management
ISBN: 9781311960030
Publisher: Progressive Management
Publication: May 29, 2014
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

This is a fascinating historic analysis of the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. The Cold War's end was sudden, unpredicted and the seminal event of the latter half of the twentieth century. Since the disintegration of the USSR, debate has centered on whom or what was responsible for the end of the conflict. Perhaps no issue is as controversial as the role the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) played in ending the Cold War. Today, there are three main schools of thought concerning SDI's impact on the end of the Cold War. The first sees the Strategic Defense Initiative as a primary factor in ending the conflict. Another argues the initiative extended the Cold War by creating one more hurdle to the negotiations between the two superpowers. A third school holds that while SDI had a positive impact on ending the Cold War, it was a secondary factor. The third school's position is best supported by the available evidence.

All of the arguments stem from several key questions. The central issue concerns the question, What drove Gorbachev's decision to exit the Cold War? This thesis rephrases that question more narrowly: What were the primary influences that motivated Gorbachev to sign the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, (INF Treaty) — which arguably ended the conflict — and to what degree were they instrumental in its signing? Additional questions that will be addressed include the following: Did either the Soviet Union's investment in developing countermeasures to the U.S. defense initiative or its own ballistic missile defense (BMD) system severely strain the Soviet economy? Did Soviet fear of losing a new arms race in light of their economic and technological backwardness, as compared to the West, push them to negotiate? Were there other factors that would have driven Gorbachev to exit the Cold War regardless of the Strategic Defense Initiative?

CHAPTER I - THE ROLE OF THE STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE IN ENDING THE COLD WAR * CHAPTER II - THE END OF THE COLD WAR AND SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT ON SDI * A. INTRODUCTION * B. THE END OF THE COLD WAR * C. THREE SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT ON SDI'S ROLE IN ENDING THE COLD WAR * D. CONCLUSION * CHAPTER III - PRESIDENT REAGAN AND THE STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE * A. INTRODUCTION * B. THE STATUS QUO * C. REAGAN'S FOREIGN POLICY PLAN * D. THE STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE AND REJECTION OF MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION * E. A PUSH FOR DIALOGUE * F. CONCLUSION * CHAPTER IV - INITIAL REACTIONS: MARCH 1983-MARCH 1985 * A. INTRODUCTION * B. GENERAL SECRETARY * C. THE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNITY * D. CONCLUSION * CHAPTER V - ENTER GORBACHEV: MARCH 1985-OCTOBER 1986 * A. INTRODUCTION * B. GENERAL SECRETARY * C. NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNITY * D. CONCLUSION * CHAPTER VI * EXITING THE COLD WAR: NOVEMBER 1986-DECEMBER 1987 * A. INTRODUCTION * B. GENERAL SECRETARY * C. THE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNITY * D. CONCLUSION * CHAPTER VII - ASSESSMENT OF THE ROLE OF SDI IN THE END OF THE COLD WAR * A. INTRODUCTION * B. THE PRO-SDI SCHOOL * C. THE ANTI-SDI SCHOOL * D. SDI WAS A SECONDARY FACTOR

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This is a fascinating historic analysis of the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. The Cold War's end was sudden, unpredicted and the seminal event of the latter half of the twentieth century. Since the disintegration of the USSR, debate has centered on whom or what was responsible for the end of the conflict. Perhaps no issue is as controversial as the role the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) played in ending the Cold War. Today, there are three main schools of thought concerning SDI's impact on the end of the Cold War. The first sees the Strategic Defense Initiative as a primary factor in ending the conflict. Another argues the initiative extended the Cold War by creating one more hurdle to the negotiations between the two superpowers. A third school holds that while SDI had a positive impact on ending the Cold War, it was a secondary factor. The third school's position is best supported by the available evidence.

All of the arguments stem from several key questions. The central issue concerns the question, What drove Gorbachev's decision to exit the Cold War? This thesis rephrases that question more narrowly: What were the primary influences that motivated Gorbachev to sign the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, (INF Treaty) — which arguably ended the conflict — and to what degree were they instrumental in its signing? Additional questions that will be addressed include the following: Did either the Soviet Union's investment in developing countermeasures to the U.S. defense initiative or its own ballistic missile defense (BMD) system severely strain the Soviet economy? Did Soviet fear of losing a new arms race in light of their economic and technological backwardness, as compared to the West, push them to negotiate? Were there other factors that would have driven Gorbachev to exit the Cold War regardless of the Strategic Defense Initiative?

CHAPTER I - THE ROLE OF THE STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE IN ENDING THE COLD WAR * CHAPTER II - THE END OF THE COLD WAR AND SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT ON SDI * A. INTRODUCTION * B. THE END OF THE COLD WAR * C. THREE SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT ON SDI'S ROLE IN ENDING THE COLD WAR * D. CONCLUSION * CHAPTER III - PRESIDENT REAGAN AND THE STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE * A. INTRODUCTION * B. THE STATUS QUO * C. REAGAN'S FOREIGN POLICY PLAN * D. THE STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE AND REJECTION OF MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION * E. A PUSH FOR DIALOGUE * F. CONCLUSION * CHAPTER IV - INITIAL REACTIONS: MARCH 1983-MARCH 1985 * A. INTRODUCTION * B. GENERAL SECRETARY * C. THE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNITY * D. CONCLUSION * CHAPTER V - ENTER GORBACHEV: MARCH 1985-OCTOBER 1986 * A. INTRODUCTION * B. GENERAL SECRETARY * C. NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNITY * D. CONCLUSION * CHAPTER VI * EXITING THE COLD WAR: NOVEMBER 1986-DECEMBER 1987 * A. INTRODUCTION * B. GENERAL SECRETARY * C. THE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNITY * D. CONCLUSION * CHAPTER VII - ASSESSMENT OF THE ROLE OF SDI IN THE END OF THE COLD WAR * A. INTRODUCTION * B. THE PRO-SDI SCHOOL * C. THE ANTI-SDI SCHOOL * D. SDI WAS A SECONDARY FACTOR

More books from Progressive Management

Cover of the book U.S. Naval Aviation in the Pacific: World War II - Pearl Harbor, Midway, Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Tarawa, Toyko, Tactical Effectiveness, Weapons by Progressive Management
Cover of the book An Examination of Marine Corps Energy Initiatives and the Supporting Manpower Force Structure - Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), Expeditionary Energy Office, Energy Reduction Plans by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Impact of Alleged Russian Cyber Attacks: Weakness of Cyber Defenses Against Cyber Warfare Demonstrated by High-Profile Attacks Against Estonia and Georgia, Multilateral Initiatives, Countermeasures by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The Northern Cheyenne Exodus: A Reappraisal of the Army's Response - Why it Took the Army Seven Months and One Thousand Miles to Capture Fleeing Indians Under Chiefs Dull Knife and Little Wolf by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Lost Unconventional Warfare Lessons from the Yugoslav Front: World War II, Cetniks, Guerrilla Warfare, German Anti-Guerrilla Tactics and Doctrine, OSS Involvement, Plans for Demobilization by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Airpower, Afghanistan, and the Future of Warfare: An Alternative View - Assessing the Air-Ground Relationship, Precision Strike, Change in Land Combat, Force Intensification, Doctrine Impact by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Evolution of Aircraft Carriers: The History of U.S. Navy Carriers, USS Langley, Early Tests and Developments, World War II and Beyond by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century FEMA Study Course: Decision Making and Problem Solving (IS-241.a) - Ethics, Brainstorming, Surveys, Problem-Solving Models, Groupthink, Discussion Groups, Case Studies by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The Air Force in Southeast Asia: Tactics and Techniques of Electronic Warfare - Electronic Countermeasures in the Air War Against North Vietnam 1965-1973 - Wild Weasel, Linebacker, B-52 by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Central Valley Project: Bureau of Reclamation Reports on San Luis Unit, Auburn Dam, Corps of Engineers, Delta Division, Friant Division, Sacramento River Division, Shasta Division, Trinity Division by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Strategic Leadership, Southern Style: Civilian Statesmen in the Confederacy's War - American Civil War Civil Military Relations, Strategic Vision, President Jefferson Davis and His Secretaries by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Skylab Mission Report: Second Visit - 1973 Space Station Mission by Bean, Garriott, and Lousma, Mission Activities, Hardware, Anomalies, Science Experiments, Crew Health, EVAs by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Nanoscience Technologies Applications, Transitions and Innovations - Nanostrands, Optical, Transistors by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Complete Guide to Maritime Pirates, Piracy, and Security, Assaults from Somalia, 2009 Capture of the Maersk Alabama, Rescue of Captain Richard Phillips, al-Shabaab by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Admiral Gorshkov on "Navies in War and Peace": Analysis of the Cold War Soviet Navy, Use of Russian Naval Forces in Wartime and Peacetime, USSR Military Strategy, Politico-Strategic Approach to War by Progressive Management
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy