Control Agenda: A History of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks

The Control Agenda explores the history of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) and their impact on Cold War decision-making, diplomacy, domestic politics, and technology. It argues that elite U.S. decision makers used SALT to manage their restive domestic populations and exert greater control over their nuclear arsenals, while prolonged engagement with arms control issues introduced dynamic effects into nuclear policy. Verification and compliance concerns by the United States prompted continuous reassessments of Soviet capabilities and intentions, which later undergirded key U.S. policy changes toward the Soviet Union.

Format: Hardback
Length: 282 pages
Publication date: 15 April 2018
Publisher: Cornell University Press

The Control Agenda is a comprehensive history of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), their rise in the Nixon and Ford administrations, their downfall under President Carter, and their enduring legacies in the Reagan years and beyond. Matthew Ambrose delves into the intricate interplay of diplomacy, domestic politics, and technology, revealing that the SALT process played a pivotal role in shaping Cold War decision-making. He argues that elite U.S. decision-makers utilized SALT to better manage their domestic populations and exert greater control over their nuclear arsenals. Ambrose further contends that prolonged engagement with arms control issues introduced dynamic effects into nuclear policy, influencing defense decision-making and allowing for the examination of new and potentially dangerous nuclear doctrines. The Control Agenda underscores the importance of verification and compliance concerns by the United States, which prompted continuous reassessments of Soviet capabilities and intentions. These assessments ultimately shaped key U.S. policy changes toward the Soviet Union. Throughout the SALT's twists and turns, accusations, countercharges, secret backchannels, and propaganda campaigns, the specter of nuclear conflict loomed large.

Weight: 604g
Dimension: 161 x 239 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501713743