A thoughtful and thought-provoking book by two leading thinkers on the topic. Ballistic missile defence is here to stay and it is imperative that we fully think through its strategic implications and how some of the programme’s most destabilising effects can be mitigated and managed.

Andrew Futter, Associate Professor of International Politics, University of Leicester

The issue of ballistic missile defence is permeating deeper into the security culture and force posture of an expanding group of states. These authors have constructed a remarkably readable account of this intriguing story. Don’t have a lot of time but need to catch up with what has happened to BMD since Ronald Reagan and Star Wars? Look no further.

Ron Huisken, Senior Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University

The appeal of missile defense is built on its promise to do away with the vulnerability of mutual deterrence and tilt the existing balance of power. However, as the authors of this study show, this quest for invulnerability comes with a price. Other states adjust to restore the balance and deny the gains that missile defense seems to offer.

Pavel Podvig, Senior Research Fellow at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research

This is an insightful and well-researched study of the self-defeating nature of the US obsession with missile defense. As the late Kenneth Waltz warned, states’ unilateral quest for superiority triggers counterbalancing by others. Rising threats posed by China’s nuclear modernization and North Korea’s nuclear ambition are good examples of how missile defense results in less security for the US.

Zhang Baohui, Professor of Political Science, Lingnan University, Hong Kong