Paper
James M. Acton, Ankit Panda
{
"authors": [
"James M. Acton"
],
"type": "other",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [
"U.S. Nuclear Policy"
],
"englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "NPP",
"programs": [
"Nuclear Policy"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"North America",
"United States",
"Russia"
],
"topics": [
"Nuclear Policy",
"Arms Control"
]
}
Source: Getty
Other
The Enduring Relevance of the Cold War
The epithet “Cold War,” as applied to nuclear strategy, is almost never meant kindly. No part of the intellectual inheritance from the Cold War is more frequently maligned than the concept of strategic stability.
Published on Jun 9, 2014
Source: Rand Corporation
The epithet "Cold War," as applied to nuclear strategy, is almost never meant kindly. Officials and analysts from both the left and right - for quite different reasons - regularly urge the United States to purge itself of a Cold War mentality. President Obama himself, in a 2009 speech in Prague that recommitted the United States to the goal of a world without nuclear weapons, promised to "put an end to Cold War thinking." Ironically, opponents of his nuclear policy also argue for the same goal on the grounds that received wisdom inhibits the United States from crafting a more-effective nuclear force (which is usually argued to require low-yield, high-accuracy nuclear weapons capable of greater discrimination than the "Cold War" legacy systems in today's U.S. stockpile).No part of the intellectual inheritance from the Cold War is more frequently maligned than the concept of strategic stability. Its advocates generally argue against attempting to undermine the survivability of other states' nuclear forces - at least in the cases of Russia and, more recently, China - out of concern that doing so might lead to arms racing and, even more seriously, preemptive attacks in a crisis. Critics who believe in the utility of nuclear superiority argue that, when applied to today's security environment, "[s]tability metrics from the Cold War can lead to dangerous and sometimes absurd conclusions."
The chapter "On Not Throwing the Nuclear Strategy Baby Out with the Cold War Bath Water: The Enduring Relevance of the Cold War" was originally published in the book Challenges in U.S. National Security Policy published by the Rand Corporation.
About the Author
James M. Acton
Jessica T. Mathews Chair, Co-director, Nuclear Policy Program
Acton holds the Jessica T. Mathews Chair and is co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
- Nuclear Weapons and the Future of American Power
- The Latest Iran Deal Ignores the Lessons of the PastCommentary
James M. Acton
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
- Stalled at the Front, Russia Seeks to Undermine Ukraine’s Economic CapacityCommentary
Russian strikes are weakening the economy sustaining Ukraine’s war effort. Closing the growing funding gap will require more European support and politically contentious reforms in Kyiv.
Balázs Jarábik
- Russian Indoctrination in Occupied Ukrainian Schools Is a ShamCommentary
Despite a new textbook, an influx of Russian teachers and managers, and an end to the teaching of Ukrainian, the Kremlin is unlikely to have “reprogrammed” locals.
Konstantin Skorkin
- Who Is Funding Russia’s War in the 2027 Budget?Commentary
For every ruble allocated to social policy, health, and education in 2027, double that amount is earmarked for the army, the police, and the security services.
Alexandra Prokopenko
- International Demand for Russia’s Arctic Shipping Route Is Unlikely to LastCommentary
Cargo traffic through Russia’s Northern Sea Route has increased because of the disruption caused by the conflict in the Middle East, the Ukraine war, and U.S.-China tensions.
Mikhail Korostikov
- What Traffic Accident Numbers Reveal About Russia’s Gasoline CrisisCommentary
An analysis of traffic accident data suggests that Ukrainian drone attacks caused a material but not disastrous fall in Russian gasoline consumption over the summer.
Sergey Vakulenko
