Soviet Strategic Conduct and the Prospects for Stability.

Abstract

Throughout the past decade, the Soviets have refused to entertain SALT proposals that would require the Soviet Union to become an active partner in increasing its own vulnerabilities. They have also revealed a penchant for immoderate levels of arms acquisition, which raises disturbing questions about their willingness to settle for a strategic posture 'essentially equivalent' to that of the United States. These features of Soviet strategic style constitute major obstacles in the path of achieving a cooperative solution to the security dilemma traditionally espoused by Western theories of mutual assured destruction. If the United States is to endure as a respectable player in the strategic arms competition, it will have to begin imposing measures conducive to stability through a strategy that appeals primarily to Soviet sensitivities, rather than to the doubtful prospect of eventual Soviet convergence with preferred concepts of the West. (author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1980
Accession Number
ADA094449

Entities

People

  • Benjamin S. Lambeth

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Counter WMD
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Agreements
  • Air Force
  • Arms Control
  • Ballistic Missile Submarines
  • Command And Control
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Defense Planning
  • Doctrine
  • Law
  • Military Doctrine
  • Military Planning
  • New York
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • Ussr
  • Warfare

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Strategic Security Studies