Nuclear Deterrence in the 21st Century : Lessons From the Cold War for a New Era of Strategic Piracy

Thérèse Delpech was one of France’s—and the world’s—most serious and respected scholars of nuclear weapons, strategy, and policy. In this posthumously published volume, she provides an eloquent review and essential update of deterrence theory, focusing a critical eye on nuclear deterrence during the Cold War, examining the lessons of past nuclear crises, and outlining ways in which these lessons apply to major nuclear powers and nuclear pretenders today. Deterrence remains a primary doctrine for dealing with the threat of nuclear weapons in the 21st century. In this book, Thérèse Delpech calls for a renewed intellectual effort to address the relevance of the traditional concepts of first strike, escalation, extended deterrence, and other Cold War{u2013}era strategies in today{u2019}s complex world of additional superpowers (e.g., China), smaller nuclear powers (e.g., Pakistan and North Korea), and nonstate actors (e.g., terrorists), as well as the extension of defense and security analysis to new domains, such as outer space and cyberspace. The author draws upon the lessons of the bipolar Cold War era to illustrate new concepts of deterrence that properly account for the variety of nuclear actors, the proliferation of missiles and thermonuclear weapons, and the radical ideologies that all are part of the nuclear scene today
Deterrence remains a primary doctrine for dealing with the threat of nuclear weapons in the 21st century. The author reviews the history of nuclear deterrence and calls for a renewed intellectual effort to address the relevance of concepts such as first strike, escalation, extended deterrence, and other Cold War-era strategies in today's complex world of additional superpowers, smaller nuclear powers, and nonstate actors. Reviews the history of nuclear deterrence and calls for a renewed intellectual effort to address the relevance of the traditional concepts of first strike, escalation, extended deterrence, and other Cold War-era strategies in today's complex world Introduction -- Why is this subject important? -- Concepts -- Lessons from crises -- The age of small powers -- Ahead of us : the big piracy game? -- Space and cyberdeterrence -- Conclusion