U.S. Homeland Missile Defense, Great Power Competition, and Arms Control – Incongruous Concepts?

The study aims to determine the role of missile defense, which can presumably either drive arms races or ensure crisis stability. The current intense security crisis in Europe and the overall Russo-Western confrontation are not amenable to traditional rules of competition, such as direct dialogue on nuclear issues. Thus, unilateral nuclear arms restrictions, undertaken in parallel by Russia and the U.S., remain the only way to maintain stability.