Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines why the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) was introduced, how the Soviet Union reacted to it, and what role SDI played at the Reagan–Gorbachev summits. The Reagan administration's decision to launch the SDI, and the Soviet response to it, is critical to the debate whether SDI contributed to the Cold War's end. The book examines the motivations for the introduction of the SDI that can one begin to consider was it part of the 'squeeze' strategy. This squeeze strategy was designed to get the Soviets to overspend, and consequently bankrupt them, ending the Cold War in the process. The book aims to show the role of the SDI in US–Soviet relations, and to conclude whether it is possible to assert that the SDI influenced Gorbachev in the lead up to the Cold War's end.