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

By Nils Petter Gleditsch

What factors drive arms races? What role does military technology play in arms build-ups? How have arms build-ups differed under various political systems? Arms Races combines deep theoretical analysis with extensive empirical studies to provide readers with an in-depth understanding of the issues involved in the arms race. The contributors consider the driving forces of the arms races, a major area of research and debate within peace studies, strategic studies, and international relations. They focus both on internal factors to the dynamics of the arms races--such as bureaucratic politics, inter-service rivalry, and the military-industrial complex--and on external factors, such as long term economic trends and interactive arms dynamics between the two superpowers. Existing case studies of the development of strategic weapons systems and the many quantitative studies of the causes and consequences of the arms race are extensively reviewed. "Anyone wanting to get access to the state of the art could not do better than to start with this one. It gives a thoughtful, wide-ranging and constructive criticism of the whole attempt to understand arms racing. A very useful book...It should be particulary welcome to those seeking a way into a large and scattered literature, and to those trying to find coherent teaching material." --International Relations and Organizations "The Gleditsch introductory overview is extremely useful--the sort of article that students with an essay to do on the topic would kill for....an extremely useful collection of papers on a topic which is likely, unfortunately, to be of enduring interest." --Pacific Research

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803982216
• ISBN13: 9780803982215
• Release Date: February 1990
• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.0" x 6.3"