The ABM Treaty: To Defend or Not to Defend?

Among the measures employed to stabilize the strategic relationship between the East and the West in the nuclear age, the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty is of profound importance. This cooperative agreement to limit offensive and defensive strategic forces has recently been challenged by the allure of new technology, including the proposed Space-based Defense System (SDI). Coinciding with the third ABM Treaty Review Conference, this study by an international roster of renowned schol…