ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the growth of the power of Athens, and the alarm it inspired in Lacedaemon; this made war inevitable. Conventional arms control must contribute to the stability of the East-West security relationship on two levels—political and military. The disposition of military forces in Europe since the end of World War II has reflected political purposes at least as much as military purposes. Prevailing notions of stability, however, represent imprecise and potentially misleading understandings of how arms control can contribute to the stability of the security relationship. To many, conventional arms control is viewed as a vehicle for transforming the character of the East-West security relationship and, with it, the post-war European political structure. Ultimately, people seek to develop a framework that, in effect, demonstrates how to think about conventional arms control. An unstable political relationship can destabilize an otherwise stable military relationship. Similarly, an unstable military relationship can provide the opportunity for conflict if political relationships become unstable.
