Debating Counterforce: A Conventional Approach in a Nuclear Age

ISBN-13: 9780367163471 / Angielski / Miękka / 2020 / 260 str.

Charles-Philippe David

Opis

This book examines the reasons counterforce has become widely accepted in U.S. nuclear weapons policies. It discusses the implications of adherence to the counterforce doctrine despite increasing popular support for avoiding nuclear war through deterrence and arms control. .

Spis treści

Introduction: The Meaning of Nuclear Weapons Revisited Part 1: The Ongoing Debate on the Nuclear Revolution 1. Cultural Factors and Security: The Forgotten Dimension of Strategy 2. The Nuclear Debate: 'The Apocalyptics' Versus 'the Conventionalists' 3. The Uncertainties of Atomic International Relations 4. The Nuclear Debate and the Evolution of the American Nuclear Doctrine Part 2: Limited Nuclear War and the Wisdom of the Doctrine of Counterforce 5. Military Flexibility and Thermonuclear Destruction 6. Defense Is the Stronger Form of Waging War 7. The Politics of Counterforce 8. Nuclear Decision-Making and the Fog of War 9. The Counterforce Debate and the Problems of Soviet Nuclear Strategy and American Vulnerability Part 3: The American Style of Nuclear Strategy 10. Features and Effects of the American Approach 11. The Dynamics of the American Approach 12. Has the American Approach 'Conventionalized' U.S. Nuclear Strategy? Part 4: The American Strategic Style and Counterforce 13. The Technical Approach and the Adoption of Counterforce (1974–1984) 14. The Dynamics of Counterforce (1981–1984) 15. Into the Second Reagan Administration (1985–1986) 16. Conclusion: The Meaning of Nuclear Weapons Reassessed