In the Star Wars universe, Death Star was the Emperor’s ultimate weapon: a moon-sized space station with the ability to destroy an entire planet with a single laser beam. It is a symbolic power that The Empire uses to threaten rebels and the planets who are not on The Empire’s side.
On March 23, 1983, six years after the release of the first Star Wars film A New Hope and the demonstration of the Death Star, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, in a televised address to the nation, said: “Let me share with you a vision of the future which offers hope. It is that we embark on a program to counter the awesome Soviet missile threat with measures that are defensive.” from his desk in the Oval Office at the height of the Cold War. The vision took a number of forms which collectively known as the “Strategic Defense Initiative” (SDI), but also referred to as “Star Wars”, after the space weaponry of the popular motion picture of the same name."
Reagan’s vision for SDI was to offer a defensive alternative to the policy of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), which had underpinned U.S.-Soviet relations for decades. The SDI aimed to protect the U.S. from long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) that could be launched. This was to be accomplished through a combination of ground-based defense systems and space-based technologies, such as satellites equipped with high-powered lasers or other directed energy weapons, designed to destroy incoming missiles in space before they could re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. If SDI was inspired by the Death Star, one could say that its vision was to treat missiles the way the Death Star treated planets- as targets to be neutralized from space. Reagan hoped that by developing such a powerful defense system, the Soviet Union would be forced to return to the negotiating table for arms reduction talks, such as the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START).
However, the SDI would require extremely advanced technological systems, yet to be researched and developed. The costs would be huge. In 1983, the U.S. defense budget was $223.43 billion, and estimates suggested that the SDI alone could cost between $20 billion and $30 billion annually by the 1990s- a financial burden that would strain the U.S. defense budget.
Despite all these, SDI was part of a broader geopolitical strategy to outpace the Soviet Union in military technology and weaken its economy by pressuring Moscow to increase its military spending, as well as a bargaining chip in arms control negotiations. Although SDI did not lead to an immediate breakthrough in arms control, it played a key role in creating a growing sense of urgency on both sides of the Cold War.
The Soviet Union viewed SDI as a serious threat, as it could potentially undermine the balance of nuclear deterrence and the concept of MAD but also as a direct challenge to the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty of 1972, which had placed restrictions on the development of missile defense systems. Reagan's announcement intensified the arms race and escalated tensions between the superpowers.
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev linked his demands that the United States drop SDI to the negotiations for the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) and the Strategic Arms Reductions Talks (START).
Over the course of the 1980s, Reagan's refusal to give up SDI became the sticking point that prevented the two countries from reaching a deal on other arms control measures, and it was only when the two sides agreed to delink defense and intermediate-range forces discussions that they managed to sign the INF Treaty. START was completed after Reagan left office, and government commitment to the SDI project waned. While the SDI’s grand vision never materialized, its focus on missile defense and technological innovation helped shape the trajectory of U.S. defense strategy into the 21st century.
If nothing else, the fear created by this project was enough to concern the Soviet Union.
“…We want to accomplish three things: One, we want the Americans to withdraw conventional forces from Europe. Two, we want them to withdraw nuclear forces from Europe. Three, we want the Americans to stop proceeding with Strategic Defense Initiative.”
General Secretary Gorbachev, November, 1987
Questions:
1. Some people say, “They missed the opportunity to nickname this project Ronald Ray-gun.” What would you name this project if it were you?
2. Do you think it is a good idea for the government to spend so much money on developing a strategic defense system? Why or why not?
You might also want to look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fYzHymvxCE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMfmVzHZvkc
References:
https://www.starwars.com/databank/death-star
https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/rd/104253.htm
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Strategic-Defense-Initiative
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2019/4/23/special-report-the-legacy-of-the-strategic-defense-initiative
https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/USA/united-states/military-spending-defense-budget
https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2023-09/features/enduring-impact-reagans-strategic-defense-initiative
https://csps.aerospace.org/sites/default/files/2021-08/NSDD-119%20Strategic%20Defense%20Initiative%206Jan84.pdf
https://www.state.gov/the-strategic-defense-initiative-in-retrospect-the-past-present-and-future-of-missile-defense/
https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/documents/card4.pdf
OSMAN YUNUS GENÇ
REGIONAL ANALYSIS COMMUNITY
POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
MUĞLA SITKI KOÇMAN UNIVERSITY
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