In March 1983, President Ronald Reagan unveiled the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a controversial space-based missile defense program quickly dubbed “Star Wars.” This initiative aimed to safeguard the United States from nuclear attack, sparking intense global debate.
Aaron Bateman’s book, Weapons in Space, offers a fresh perspective on SDI. Drawing from recently declassified documents from the US, Europe, and the Soviet Union, Bateman situates SDI within a new era of space militarization, following the breakdown of superpower détente in the 1970s. This research sheds light on the critical, albeit often hidden, role of military space technologies in US defense strategy and foreign relations during the late Cold War.
Contrary to existing narratives, Bateman’s work highlights how disagreements about the role of military space technologies within American statecraft were a primary source of contention surrounding SDI—even more so than technical feasibility concerns. His research also details the involvement of Western European countries in SDI research and development, presenting a view of space militarization during the 1970s and 1980s as a truly international phenomenon. Moreover, Bateman reveals that despite SDI’s failure to fully materialize, the initiative hindered diplomatic efforts to establish new arms control limits in space. Consequently, Weapons in Space examines SDI’s enduring impact into the post-Cold War period, demonstrating how this controversial program continues to shape global discussions about space instability and the escalating anxieties surrounding a potential twenty-first-century space arms race.
Aaron Bateman, the author, serves as an assistant professor of history and international affairs at George Washington University. His expertise lies in the history of science and technology, specifically focusing on their intersection with international security. Bateman’s research examines the ways science and technology have influenced foreign policy, nuclear strategy, alliance dynamics, and arms control. His previous work has explored these themes in the context of the space age during the Cold War.
His book Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative, provides an in-depth international history of Ronald Reagan’s controversial SDI program. Using newly accessible documents, Bateman explores the intensifying US-Soviet military space competition of the Cold War’s final two decades, which emerged as détente collapsed. The book further explores SDI’s lasting consequences for arms control and its connections with current anxieties about a potential arms race in space.
Aaron Bateman, author of “Weapons in Space”.
The book’s analysis was made possible by presentations from other academics, including:
Susan Colbourn, Associate Director of the Program in American Grand Strategy, Duke University.
Anthony Eames, Director of Scholarly Initiatives at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.
