Arms Control and the Atlantic Community (review)

282 SAIS REVIEW prohibited, and, through a massive secret police force, the single party controls all government personnel, including the judges. There may be some disputes on domestic commercial matters to which the Communist party is indifferent, and in such cases doctrine may actually prevail. Where the party has an interest, however, the party is likely to prevail regardless of the doctrine . To refer to such doctrine as "law," without any reference to the basic facts of government, serves more to confuse than to clarify. Arms Control and the Atlantic Community. By Werner J. Feld. New York: Praeger, 1987. 192 pp. $35.95/cloth. Reviewed by Michael lilies, M. A. candidate, SAIS. The year 1987 may be remembered as the Year of Arms Control. Politicians on both sides of the Iron Curtain hail the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force (INF) treaty as a milestone in the history of arms control negotiations, paving the way for the prospect of future, far-reaching agreements. Although President Reagan has received official support from the West European allies in his attempt to eliminate the land-based INF systems, critical observers have rightly noted West European concern about the future of collective defense in light of arms control agreements between the superpowers. European ambivalence in these matters is hardly new — it was already evident during the Strategic Arms Limitations Treaties (SALT) process in the 1970s. A book titled Arms Control and the Atlantic Community is, therefore, likely to receive special attention. The author, WernerJ. Feld, is a professor of political science at the University of New Orleans. In roughly two hundred pages Feld provides the reader with an overview of developments in the different areas of arms control, from the SALT II treaty to INF, the Strategic Arms Reductions Talks (START), and the confidence-building measures that were agreed at the Stockholm Conference. The book primarily focuses on West European interests and objectives, describing the various motives that have led U.S. allies to support the superpowers' arms control efforts. Such motives are in no way limited to security issues. Rather, they are largely focused on the overall state of EastWest relations. As Feld points out, only a relaxed global situation would allow closer economic and cultural ties between Eastern and Western Europe. However, Feld's focus on the political dimension of arms control may be the downfall of the book. The reader will miss a deep analysis of the military implications of agreements, such as SALT II and the INF treaty, already apparent at the time the treaties were signed. Understanding the structural problems or "dilemmas" of NATO defense becomes especially important considering the INF agreement and future talks about short-range nuclear systems and conventional weapons. The end of this decade will undoubtedly be marked by bilateral attempts by the United States and the Soviet Union to reduce conventional force levels in Europe. In this case the position of the European members of NATO will certainly play a major role. An important task for a book dealing with arms control and the Atlantic community is surely to analyze the BOOK REVIEWS 283 possibilities for, and limits of, future arms control efforts in the context of West European concerns about defense. But Feld's study does not provide this long-term perspective and is, therefore , rather disappointing in the end. Completed in mid- 1986, it is quickly losing its topical relevance. While the book does have some merit as a brief historical description of the preceding seven years of arms control, it is questionable whether this will bring the study much attention in the future. For Richer, For Poorer: The New U.S.-Japan Relationship. By Ellen L. Frost. New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 1987. 163 pp. f19.95/hardcover. Reviewed by Matthew Goodman, M. A. candidate, SAIS. In his landmark 1967 book, Le Défi Américain ("The American Challenge"), Jean-Jacques Servan Schreiber urged his fellow Europeans to imitate American management techniques so as to catch up in the "industrial war" with the United States. He wrote this book at a time when U.S. investment around the world was growing rapidly and there were fears in Europe of being "taken over...