Arms Races: Technological and Political Dynamics (International Peace Research Institute, Oslo

by Olav Njolstad (Editor)

A long tradition of theoretical and empirical work has been devoted to the question of the driving forces in the arms race since the 1960s. This book takes up the internal factors of arms dynamics, such as bureaucratic politics, interservice rivalry, and the military-industrial complex, as well as external factors such as interactive arms dynamics between the two superpowers. It also deals with the question of technological determinism - the ideas that what is technically possible will be done as opposed to the idea that `politics is in command′. Finally, factors in the international system affecting arms races are also examined, such as long economic waves and power transitions.

432 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1990