Eisenhower and the Missile Gap / Peter Roman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Roman, Peter, Author.

Series:

Cornell Studies in Security Affairs

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Executive power--United States--History.

Executive power.

Nuclear weapons--Government policy--United States--History.

Nuclear weapons.

International Studies.

Security Studies.

United States--Politics and government--1953-1961.

United States.

Local Subjects:

International Studies.

Security Studies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (280 p.)

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Uncertainty about Soviet intentions and capabilities after the launch of Sputnik required changes in U.S. strategic nuclear policy; Peter J. Roman draws from recently declassified archives to examine of one of the most unstable periods in the Cold War.Roman argues that presidential leadership from 1957 to 1960 was crucial to national security. Dwight D. Eisenhower was, he argues, actively involved in all nuclear policy making. His responses to the extreme uncertainty of the late 1950s shaped American nuclear policy for decades, and in its internal deliberations his administration anticipated much of the subsequent public debate.Eisenhower and the Missile Gap investigates a variety of issues, actors, and institutions to explain how a government deals with high levels of technological uncertainty. Several significant themes emerge: the evolution of American perceptions of vulnerability; problems in intelligence collection and analysis; the integration of new weapons systems into strategy; the influence of the armed forces; the impact of organizational interests on policy and force decisions; Eisenhower's internal and external leadership style; and presidential management of defense and foreign policy.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments / Roman, Peter J.

Abbreviations

1. The Eisenhower Administration, Presidential Power, and Nuclear Policy

2. Soviet Missiles, Warning, and Perceptions of Vulnerability

3. The Challenge to Massive Retaliation

4. Defense Budgets and the Public Debate over the Missile Gap

5. Strategic Force Planning during the Missile Gap Period

6. Eisenhower and the Missile Gap in Perspective

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 26. Nov 2019)

ISBN:

1-5017-4478-X

OCLC:

1129164234