Revolution That Failed - Nuclear Competition, Arms Control, and the Cold War

A theoretical analysis and historical investigation of the Cold War nuclear arms race that challenges the nuclear revolution.

List of contents

Introduction: a revolution, or what?; 1. The nuclear revolution revisited; 2. The delicacy of the nuclear balance; 3. Comparative constitutional fitness; 4. Testing the argument against its competitors; 5. Nixon and the origins of renewed nuclear competition, 1969-1971; 6. Nixon, Ford, and accelerating nuclear competition, 1971-1976; 7. The rise of nuclear warfighting, 1972-1976; 8. Carter and the climax of the arms race, 1977-1979; 9. The revolution that failed.

About the author

Brendan Rittenhouse Green writes on issues of nuclear strategy, American foreign policy, and grand strategy. His scholarly articles have appeared in journals such as International Security and Security Studies, and have received awards from the Journal of Strategic Studies and the American Political Science Association.

Summary

The nuclear revolution, or MAD, predicts that after a certain point, nuclear competition is irrational, and arms racing should end. Through an analysis of the Cold War, this book explains why the superpowers did not accept MAD, concluding that contemporary great power rivals face similar risks of a nuclear arms race today.

Additional text

'With sophisticated theorizing and painstaking research, Green shows that, during the Cold War, American leaders did not accept the dogma of Mutual Assured Destruction. Instead, they sought weapons that could be used to out compete the USSR and produce the best possible military outcome in the event of war. This is a major achievement that alters our understanding of the Soviet-American interaction and the role of nuclear weapons.' Robert Jervis, author of The Meaning of the Nuclear Revolution and How Statesmen Think

Product details

• Authors: Brendan Rittenhouse Green, Brendan Rittenhouse (University of Cincinna Green, Brendan Rittenhouse (University of Cincinnati) Green
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 29.02.2020
• EAN: 9781108489867
• ISBN: 978-1-108-48986-7
• No. of pages: 290
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; History, POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Archaeology, HISTORY / Military / Nuclear Warfare, International Relations, Politics & government, Archaeology, Later 20th century c 1950 to c 1999, Science / Environmental Science, Politics and government, Nuclear weapons, Nuclear issues, History and Archaeology, c 1945 to c 2000 (Post-war period)