Implications of the Reykjavik Summit on Its Twentieth Anniversary: Conference Report

by Sidney D. Drell, George P. Shultz

Overview

In October 1986 in Reykjavik, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev agreed on the need to eliminate nuclear weapons-a historic agreement that ultimately led to the end of the cold war. Since that time, the nature of the nuclear threat in the world has changed, but the twenty-year-old lessons of Reykjavik may well help us achieve the goal of a modern world free of nuclear weapons.

Drawn from presentations at the Hoover Institution's conference on the twentieth anniversary of the Reykjavik summit, this collection of essays examines the legacy of that meeting between President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. The contributors discuss what the lessons of Reykjavik can mean for today's nuclear arms control efforts, covering topics ranging from an explanation of President Reagan's role in creating trust at Reykjavik to the importance of preserving a missile defense system today to a discussion of a key lesson learned: the importance of negotiating with enemies.

Along with these insightful essays, the book includes the actual, previously secret classified transcript of the discussions between Reagan and Gorbachev. Taken as a whole, the contributions in this collection reassert the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons and underscore the need for new practical measures for achieving that goal.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780817948429
Publisher:	Hoover Institution Press
Publication date:	10/01/2007
Series:	Hoover inst press Publication
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Sidney D. Drell is a senior fellow, by courtesy, at the Hoover Institution and professor of theoretical physics (emeritus) at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. He coauthored The Gravest Danger: Nuclear Weapons with James Goodby. George P. Shultz, the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution, served as U.S. secretary of state under Ronald Reagan.

Table of Contents

Preface   George P. Shultz   Sidney D. Drell     vii
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A World Free of Nuclear Weapons   George P. Shultz   William J. Perry   Henry A. Kissinger   Sam Nunn     3
The Nuclear Threat   Mikhail Gorbachev     9
Papers Prepared for the Conference
President Reagan's Nuclear Legacy   James E. Goodby     15
Nuclear Weapons Elimination: A Process   Thomas Graham Jr.     25
The Legacy of Reykjavik: Preserving a Security Option for Dealing with Madmen, Missiles, and Missile Defense   Thomas H. Henriksen     33
The Soviet Preparation for Reykjavik: Four Documents   David Holloway     45
Zero Nuclear Weapons   Max M. Kampelman     97
The Legacy of Reykjavik: Outline of Remarks   Jack F. Matlock Jr.     107
When Reagan and Gorbachev Reached for the Stars   Don Oberdorfer     111
The Legacy of Reykjavik: Remarks   Rozanne L. Ridgway     119
A Legacy of Reykjavik: Negotiating with Enemies   Abraham D. Sofaer     127
Six-Country Concept for a Multilateral Mechanism for Reliable Access to Nuclear Fuel   James P. Timbie     147
Memorandum of Conversation (Transcript ofthe discussions of President Ronald Reagan and Secretary of State George P. Shultz with General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze)     153
Conference Agenda and Participants     217
Related Pre-conference Publications     221
Index     223