Conventional nuclear strategy and the American doctrine of counterforce

Thesis/Dissertation · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:5325114

David, C P

Debate over nuclear weapons still lingers and one cause of this trend, as suggested by this thesis, is the rise of conventional nuclear strategy or, in other words, the attempt by the US government to apply through the counterforce doctrine a conventional weapons strategy in an age of nuclear weapons. That debate is analyzed, as well as the thinking underlining conventional nuclear strategy, and explains why conventionalization has become popular in US nuclear weapons policies. A feature of the American nuclear debate has been the unresolved tension between two approaches to nuclear strategy, namely: the apocalyptic approach and the conventional approach. The confrontation between these camps has resulted over the years in a gradual but steady erosion of the strategic consensus to the point where, under the Reagan administration, the conventional camp appears to have emerged as a clear winner from the nuclear debate. The attractiveness of conventional nuclear strategy can be attributed to the influence and working of an American style of nuclear strategy, i.e., a specific approach to the phenomena of nuclear weapons. The author concludes that the conventional and official strategic view that nuclear problems can be solved by technological progress may, in fact, contribute to worsen rather than improve the thermonuclear condition of the world.

• Research Organization: Princeton Univ., NJ (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5325114
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
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EVALUATION
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR DETERRENCE
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
PROLIFERATION
USA
WEAPONS