Deterrence and strategic defense in the 21st century. Study project
The United States' experience with a deterrent security strategy is colored by more than 40 years of confrontation with the Soviet Union. Over the Cold War years, American political leadership wrestled with two foreign policy challenges: the threat of communist expansion and the danger of nuclear weapons. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, communist expansion may be a thing of the past. Nevertheless, nuclear weapons are still with us in large numbers. Of the many challenges facing American statecraft in the 21st century, few are as foreboding as the accelerating proliferation of nuclear weapons and the means for their delivery. Although intelligence professionals cannot confidently predict the 21st century international environment, several trends characterize what we might find. There will still be ideological competitors, in some cases involved in intractable regional conflicts. Furthermore, nuclear and conventional military technologies will increasingly spread, militarizing old regional battles. As new nuclear regimes emerge, their political calculations will be tempered by these longstanding animosities, possibly escalating lower order regional violence to nuclear confrontation. The United States must address the significant issues raised by growing regional nuclear potential adversaries if it expects to influence the international order required to achieve the National Security Strategy's envisioned Age of Democratic Peace.
- Research Organization:
- Army War Coll., Carlisle Barracks, PA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 6355341
- Report Number(s):
- AD-A-264893/9/XAB
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
Negotiations
& Legislation-- (1987-)
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
ADVERSARIES
ARMS CONTROL
ASIA
CALCULATION METHODS
DELIVERY
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DISSOLUTION
ENERGY
ENVIRONMENT
EUROPE
EXPANSION
FOREIGN POLICY
GLOBAL ASPECTS
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
MILITARY STRATEGY
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NATIONAL SECURITY
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR ENERGY
NUCLEAR POTENTIAL
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
POLITICAL ASPECTS
POTENTIALS
PROLIFERATION
REGIONAL ANALYSIS
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
RISK ASSESSMENT
SECURITY
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
US DOD
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
USSR
WARFARE
WEAPONS