Sanford Lakoff – författare

When Ronald Reagan introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) in 1983, he boldly challenged the long-accepted nuclear doctrine of mutual assured destruction. He argued that the development of this costly and complex missile defense system, popularly known as Star Wars, was the only viable and real alternative to the ongoing proliferation of nuclear weapons. While Reagan's vision unwittingly accelerated the end of the Cold War, SDI soon became a program shrouded in controversy. Costs soared and researchers struggled to develop the essential and successful technologies, although the threat of an atomic exchange with the former Soviet Union no longer loomed on the horizon. Despite those factors, SDI has survived. It remains in the active stages of development more than two decades after it was introduced, even as American policy makers struggle to counter the emerging threat posed by rogue states engaged in the active pursuit and development of atomic weapons. Devoid of any political agenda, Strategic Defense in the Nuclear Age presents a concise overview of the history of SDI, chronicling its successes and failures through the ongoing evolution of the program. It is the most up-to-date account on the market today.Sanford Lakoff is an established expert on the development of SDI. In this work, he chronicles the history of the program from its initial introduction during the Reagan years, through the ongoing struggles associated with research and development that plague the program to this day. Each chapter provides analysis of the strategic, scientific, and diplomatic challenges policy makers and scientists struggle to overcome, at the same time exploring the changing strategic needs and specific purposes for the program. Offering a glossary that provides an explanation of key scientific terms and an appendix by noted physicist Richard L. Garwin, this book will appeal to scholars and students, as well as to the general public.

A Shield in Space? by Sanford Lakoff and Herbert F. York examines the Reagan administration’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), launched in 1983 and popularly dubbed “Star Wars.” Drawing on the program’s first five years, they argue SDI embodied misplaced faith in technological salvation: a politically driven shortcut that bypassed normal vetting and sidelined Defense and State. A technically uninformed president greenlit a research push to make nuclear weapons “impotent and obsolete,” hoping advanced technologies could replace deterrence. The record, they contend, shows otherwise: comprehensive, reliable defenses have not emerged and, even if feasible, would likely be vulnerable to countermeasures, failing to ensure confidence against a massive attack. Belief in a decisive, last technological move is thus a fallacy. Given these realities, letting hope for a space shield shape planning or block deep cuts in offensive arsenals would be folly; stability, integration, and cooperation offer a realistic path to durable peace.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1989.