Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative

Abstract

Militarization of space is not science fiction anymore, but it has transformed into an important security front. The book ‘Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative’ was written by Aaron Bateman, who is an Assistant Professor of History and International Affairs at George Washington University and a member of the Space Policy Institute. He has published widely on intelligence, transatlantic relations, and the military use of space during the Cold War and beyond. For scholars and policy makers in Pakistan, the work of Bateman is not just a history lesson; it is a road map that one must have to master in the long-term perilous combination of technology, strategy, and politics in space. This book provides a pertinent historical revelation of the program that sets the stage for the “Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI).” By depending on declassified American, Soviet, and British documents, the space policy historian puts forward the argument that the SDI was not just a pipe dream in terms of its technology. It was an influential strategic and political power that changed the balance of the Cold War. Its legacy continues to affect great power politics to this day.