Citation

Roberts D. J. Peace Res. 1986; 23(3): 291-298.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1986, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/002234338602300307

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

One of the basic paradoxes of research on space and international politics is the rapid and undisputed success of the Soviet state in space, and the continuous and seemingly infinite lag in American efforts in the development of space technology and military applications in space. While democratic government is generally credited with being the most important source of the limited achievements of Americans in space, Walter A. McDougall argues in his work, ...the Heavens and the Earth, that democracy also played a crucial role in limiting the militarization of space. In contrast to the American case, the form of the Soviet state has allowed for progress of an unprecedented nature given the relative backward na ture of Soviet technology, at the conclusion of World War II. This the critical problem in McDougall's ...the Heavens and the Earth, and flies in the face of President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative. Democracy seems to be of little relevance in this case. This review provides a summary description of McDougall's work, the delineation of his central argument, and a critical examination of the broader implications for understanding discussions of the Strategic Defense Initiative, and the study of space and international politics more generally.