Military Balance in the Cold War Us Perceptions and Policy, 1976-85

This book examines the impact of American perceptions of the military balance between the United States and the Soviet Union during the key period of 1976-85. That decade witnessed the decline of the US-Soviet dètente and the resurgence of superpower confrontation, often called the 'Second Cold War'. Among the factors contributing to this shift was the American view of the military balance - that is, whether the United States had been or was being overtaken by the Soviet Union in terms of military capability. Since then, the military balance has been viewed within the overall context of issues impacting superpower relations during this era. However, American attitudes of the time were based heavily on the military balance, and perceptions of it came to have a decisive impact on US policy. Dr Walsh examines the full range of issues - strategic and European-based forces, power-projection capabilities, and military spending - and their role in shaping perceptions, not just of the military balance but also in such key areas of international relations as arms control, trans-Atlantic diplomacy and Third World conflict. In doing so, the author shows how the perceptions of the 1970s contributed to key policy decisions in the 1980s, which themselves played a significant role in bringing the Cold War to an end.This book will be of interest to advanced students of Cold War History, Strategic Studies, US foreign policy and IR in general. David Walsh has a Phd in International History from the London School of Economics.Walsh, David M. is the author of 'Military Balance in the Cold War Us Perceptions and Policy, 1976-85', published 2007 under ISBN 9780415426190 and ISBN 0415426197.