The Soviet Union and the Arms Race by David HollowayReview by: Andrew J. PierreForeign Affairs, Vol. 61, No. 5 (Summer, 1983), p. 1194Published by: Council on Foreign RelationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20041650 .

Accessed: 14/06/2014 06:16

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

Council on Foreign Relations is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to ForeignAffairs.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 06:16:33 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

1194 FOREIGN AFFAIRS

A spirited presentation of most aspects of defense for the beginner. Much

ground is covered in a manner easily understandable by all, but there is perhaps too much emphasis on weapons and not enough on doctrine and strategic policy.

THE SOVIET UNION AND THE ARMS RACE. By David Holloway. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983, 208 pp. $14.95.

This book stands above many other works on Soviet defense policy and attitudes toward arms control because of its lucidity, balance and depth. The

author, at the University of Edinburgh, does not look at Moscow through a pink prism. He recognizes the political and historical impulses which guide Soviet

policy toward achieving full superpower recognition and a high defense capacity, but he also believes that further arms control is both desirable and achievable. Like the West, notes Holloway, the Soviet Union does not have satisfactory answers to the problems posed by nuclear weapons.

THE THREAT: INSIDE THE SOVIET MILITARY MACHINE. By Andrew Cockburn. New York: Random House, 1983, 338 pp. $16.95.

Cockburn's aim is to debunk the Soviet military threat as it is often depicted in the West, especially the U.S. In arguing that the Soviets are not ten feet tall

he implicitly suggests that they are three feet tall, thereby losing some of his

credibility. Yet there is much that is fascinating in this well-written book about

matters like the grim daily life of Soviet recruits and weapons that don't work.

The author has spent long hours with Soviet emigres, as well as American defense

analysts, and has produced what should be a controversial, if not authoritative,

book. It is a welcome addition to a debate in which most of the literature is on

the hawkish side of the scale.

THE NEW HIGH GROUND: SYSTEMS AND WEAPONS OF SPACE AGE WAR. By Thomas Karas. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983, 224 pp. $14.95.

This important and timely book takes us into the world of the enthusiasts in

the "space establishment" of the U.S. Air Force and acquaints the reader with

the innovative industry that is providing?and promoting?the technology. The

current scale and future potential of the enterprise, from space communication

to weapons in orbit, is striking. The author is not afraid to voice his doubts, however. He does not believe that the earth can be made safe from war by

moving combat into space; he warns against shifting the military competition with the U.S.S.R. into space (the Soviets will not accept inferiority there, either), and he argues that the U.S. will pay a price for the increased militarization of its

national space programs (technology transfer for civilian uses is lower than some

allege).

ARMS DEAL: THE SELLING OF THE F-16. By Ingemar D?rfer. New York:

Praeger, 1983, 287 pp. $29.95. The decision of Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway in 1975 to

purchase 348 F-16s from the United States, rather than the Dassault Mirage F

1 or the Swedish Viggen, was hailed at the time as the "arms deal of the century." This carefully written yet sprightly book must now rank as the most extensive

study to date of a single international arms sale. The author, a Swede conversant

with defense technology and policy, looks at the decision-making process in each

of the European capitals as well as the tactics of the companies (including

Northrop versus General Dynamics before the latter was chosen). "High" poli tics?the French arguing that a European aircraft must be chosen?and "low"

politics, e.g., personal contacts and bribes, are examined in this impressive,

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 06:16:33 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions