Just and Unjust Nuclear Deterrence
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12159283 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Scott D Sagan (0000-0003-0194-417X, Stanford University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 19-28 |
| Publication date | 2023-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Ethics & International Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0892-6794 • E-ISSN: 1747-7093 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0892679423000035 |
| OpenAlex | W4367019714 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 4 |
In this essay, I propose five principles to make U.S. nuclear deterrence policy more just and effective in the future: sever the link between the mass killing of innocent civilians and nuclear deterrence by focusing targeting on adversaries’ military power and senior political leadership, not their population; never use or plan to use a nuclear weapon against any target that could be destroyed or neutralized by conventional weapons; reject “belligerent reprisal” threats against civilians even in response to enemy attacks on one's own or allied civilians; replace nuclear “calculated ambiguity” threats against biological or cyberattacks with “deterrence by denial” strategies; and work in good faith toward eventual nuclear disarmament
Adversary · Ambiguity · Belligerent · Biological warfare · Computer security · Denial · Deterrence theory · Disarmament · Law and economics · Nuclear ethics · Nuclear weapon · Political science · Politics · Population · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Law · Nuclear Issues and Defense · Philosophy · Psychology · War, Ethics, and Justification
| Citations per year | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |