Strategy in the Second Nuclear Age
Power, Ambition, and the Ultimate Weapon
- 256 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Strategy in the Second Nuclear Age
Power, Ambition, and the Ultimate Weapon
About This Book
A "second nuclear age" has begun in the post-Cold War world. Created by the expansion of nuclear arsenals and new proliferation in Asia, it has changed the familiar nuclear geometry of the Cold War. Increasing potency of nuclear arsenals in China, India, and Pakistan, the nuclear breakout in North Korea, and the potential for more states to cross the nuclear-weapons threshold from Iran to Japan suggest that the second nuclear age of many competing nuclear powers has the potential to be even less stable than the first.
Strategy in the Second Nuclear Age assembles a group of distinguished scholars to grapple with the matter of how the United States, its allies, and its friends must size up the strategies, doctrines, and force structures currently taking shape if they are to design responses that reinforce deterrence amid vastly more complex strategic circumstances. By focusing sharply on strategyâthat is, on how states use doomsday weaponry for political gainâthe book distinguishes itself from familiar net assessments emphasizing quantifiable factors like hardware, technical characteristics, and manpower. While the emphasis varies from chapter to chapter, contributors pay special heed to the logistical, technological, and social dimensions of strategy alongside the specifics of force structure and operations. They never lose sight of the human factorâthe pivotal factor in diplomacy, strategy, and war.
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Table of contents
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- 1 Introduction
- 2 After Proliferation: Deterrence Theory and Emerging Nuclear Powers
- 3 South Africaâs Nuclear Strategy: Deterring âTotal Onslaughtâ and âNuclear Blackmailâ in Three Stages
- 4 The Future of Chinese Nuclear Policy and Strategy
- 5 North Koreaâs Nuclear Weapons Program: Motivations, Strategy, and Doctrine
- 6 Changing Perceptions of Extended Deterrence in Japan
- 7 Thinking about the Unthinkable: Tokyoâs Nuclear Option
- 8 The Influence of Bureaucratic Politics on Indiaâs Nuclear Strategy
- 9 The Future of Indiaâs Undersea Nuclear Deterrent
- 10 Pakistanâs Nuclear Posture: Thinking about the Unthinkable?
- 11 Regime Type, Nuclear Reversals, and Nuclear Strategy: The Ambiguous Case of Iran
- 12 Conclusion: Thinking about Strategy in the Second Nuclear Age
- Contributors
- Index