Dr. Strangelove
What I Learned Since I Stopped Worrying and Studied the Movie: A Teaching Guide to Stanley Kubrick 's Dr. Strangelove
Dan Lindley, University of Notre Dame
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan Lindley is assistant professor in international relations and security studies at the University of Notre Dame. Lindley worked for several arms control and research organizations in Washington, D.C. before receiving a Ph.D. from MIT. Lindley has published and spoken on U.N. peacekeeping, internal conflict, the Cyprus problem and Greco-Turkish relations, collective security, the U.S. intervention in Panama, the role of ideas in international politics, and SDI contracting.
Introduction
John Pike, former director of space policy at the Federation of American Scientists, once said to me: "Everything there is to know about nuclear strategy can be learned from Dr. Strangelove." "Everything" is only a mild overstatement. I show Dr. Strangeloveannually to Notre Dame audiences to teach about nuclear war, and I will continue to do so until nuclear weapons and war itself are no longer problems. The film offers lessons about war, politics, and history and can serve as a teaching aid for classes in introductory international relations, foreign policy, defense policy, causes of war, organizational politics, and Cold War history.1
In this teaching guide I cover three tasks, all of which highlight concepts and themes in Dr. Strangelove. First, I use the film as a springboard to discuss deterrence, mutually assured destruction, preemption, the security dilemma, arms races, relative versus absolute gains concerns, Cold War misperceptions and paranoia, and civil-military relations (in this order). Second, I put these concepts into their historical contexts to teach about Cold War history. Third, I show how closely Dr. Strangeloveparallels actual events and policies. I conclude with the story of how an article by Thomas Schelling led to the making of the film.
Dr. Strangelove, Nuclear
Dan Lindley, University of Notre Dame
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan Lindley is assistant professor in international relations and security studies at the University of Notre Dame. Lindley worked for several arms control and research organizations in Washington, D.C. before receiving a Ph.D. from MIT. Lindley has published and spoken on U.N. peacekeeping, internal conflict, the Cyprus problem and Greco-Turkish relations, collective security, the U.S. intervention in Panama, the role of ideas in international politics, and SDI contracting.
Introduction
John Pike, former director of space policy at the Federation of American Scientists, once said to me: "Everything there is to know about nuclear strategy can be learned from Dr. Strangelove." "Everything" is only a mild overstatement. I show Dr. Strangeloveannually to Notre Dame audiences to teach about nuclear war, and I will continue to do so until nuclear weapons and war itself are no longer problems. The film offers lessons about war, politics, and history and can serve as a teaching aid for classes in introductory international relations, foreign policy, defense policy, causes of war, organizational politics, and Cold War history.1
In this teaching guide I cover three tasks, all of which highlight concepts and themes in Dr. Strangelove. First, I use the film as a springboard to discuss deterrence, mutually assured destruction, preemption, the security dilemma, arms races, relative versus absolute gains concerns, Cold War misperceptions and paranoia, and civil-military relations (in this order). Second, I put these concepts into their historical contexts to teach about Cold War history. Third, I show how closely Dr. Strangeloveparallels actual events and policies. I conclude with the story of how an article by Thomas Schelling led to the making of the film.
Dr. Strangelove, Nuclear