The Richard B. Foster papers document the work of a leading American national security analyst in the Cold War period. In a career spanning three decades, Foster specialized in strategic forecasting, attempting to predict future military and political developments on the basis of existing trends. He conducted research and wrote about many aspects of American defense policy, especially in relation to the possibility of nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. As the director of the Strategic Studies Center at SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute), Foster wrote or collaborated on numerous reports that addressed a wide range of national security issues, including military strategy, ballistic missile defense, arms control, and telecommunications. These reports comprise the largest part of the Foster collection. In addition, the collection contains a number of articles Foster wrote for various journals, as well as drafts of his unpublished study of the history of American strategic doctrine.

87 manuscript boxes (34.8 Linear Feet)

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The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.