ABSTRACT
In the American debate over strategic defense, the Soviet dimension of the problem has received little systematic attention. Although a substantial body of pertinent Western scholarship exists, public discussion of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) has taken inadequate notice of Soviet views and policies. A number of US officials, omitting the Soviet perspective entirely or assuming that Soviet policy is already permanently fixed, have implicitly discounted the need to consider possible Soviet responses to new US strategic undertakings. The chapter analyzes Soviet views of the superpowers' shifting geopolitical relationship and ballistic missile defense's impact on it. It traces the evolution of Soviet policies toward Soviet ballistic missile defense and the introduction of weapons into space. The chapter explores the resource allocation debate that will affect future Soviet decisions on strategic defense and space systems. It outlines possible Soviet responses to the US strategic defense program and examines the implications of SDI for Soviet policies toward arms control.
