First-stage Unfolding of the Reagan Administration’s Nuclear Negotiations with the Soviet Union : Creation of Critical Negotiation Assets and the Beginning of Two Nuclear Negotiations

The United States and the Soviet Union continued deadly nuclear arms race after World WarⅡ. The two super powers began to limit their strategic nuclear arms during the 1970s via the SALTⅠand SALTⅡconferences－but the ensuring nuclear treaties never stopped the increasing tide of nuclear arms. During the 1980s, the Reagan Administration challenged the large scale reduction of nuclear arms with unique policies including the utilization of the critical negotiation assets (CNAs) in order to push the Soviet Union. The strongest CNA was the utilization of US space forces to eliminate the USSR’s strategic arms capabilities. In fact, the Reagan Administration succeeded in the signing of an INF treaty that abolished all of the super powers’ theater nuclear weapons, and also launched STARTⅠin order to reduce strategic nuclear weapons. This would form the dramatically reduced tide of nuclear forces that subsequent talks and treaties (STARTⅡ, SORT and NEW START) would go on to create. The Reagan Administration’s nuclear negotiations with the Soviet Union consisted of three phases : the first stage (1981～83), the adjustment period (1984), and the second stage (1985～88). This paper explores how the Reagan Administration formed critical negotiation assets, started two nuclear negotiations, and managed these during the first stage