How Able Was “Able Archer”
Nuclear Trigger and Intelligence in Perspective
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12747129 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Vojtech Mastny (Parallel Consulting (United States), corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 108-123 |
| Publication date | 2009-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Cold War Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1520-3972 • E-ISSN: 1531-3298 |
| Publisher | The MIT Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1162/jcws.2009.11.1.108 |
| OpenAlex | W2029700800 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 6 |
A sharp increase in East-West tensions in the early 1980s sparked a genuine, if unwarranted, war scare in the USSR which the Soviet leader Yurii Andropov tried to exploit for political purposes. Soviet intelligence officials, however, were sufficiently informed about the enemy's true intentions that they did not sound the alarm in November 1983 when NATO conducted its “Able Archer” exercise, which has been retrospectively misinterpreted as having been capable of provoking nuclear escalation. The increased awareness of the risks inherent in the accumulation of nuclear weaponry, though not that particular incident, spurred President Ronald Reagan to take steps to reassure Moscow that the United States wanted peace—steps that eventually helped defuse the East-West confrontation
Adversary · Cold war · Computer security · Exploit · Nuclear weapon · Perspective (graphical · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Computer Science · Intelligence, Security, War Strategy · Law · Nuclear Issues and Defense
Statements of Resolve
Un ataque con misiles nucleares? El proyecto RYaN y los mitos de la Segunda Guerra Fría
Cuando la realidad supera la ficción
Able Archer
The War Scare That Wasn't
Slouching Toward Nuclear War
Fear, Loathing, and Cracks in Reagan’s Mirror Images
The 1983 Nuclear Crisis – Lessons for Deterrence Theory and Practice
Deterring ‘Able Archer’
| Citations per year | 0.6 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2011 - 2024 (14) |
| Highly cited | No |