This history of the Strategic Defense Initiative shows how political, economic, strategic and cultural factors have interacted to shape SDI. It examines new research into the SDI interest groups, the distribution of contracts, and the politics of influence, and explores SDI in terms of alliance management, popular culture and military spin-offs. Throughout, the author tests the theoretical literature on the dynamics of the arms race against the reality of "Star Wars," and draws important conclusions about the motive causes of SDI and its prospects for the 1990s.