Making Threats
Minimal Deterrence, Extended Deterrence and Nuclear Warfighting
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2276375 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paul Joseph (0000-0002-5503-9979, Tufts University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1985 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 293-310 |
| Publication date | 1985-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociological Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0038-0253 • E-ISSN: 1533-8525 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1533-8525.1985.tb00229.x |
| OpenAlex | W1984365539 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 17 |
This analysis contributes to a political sociology of the arms race by linking the history of U.S. strategic policy with sociological explorations in the organization of power. American nuclear policy illustrates continuity and episodic change. Continuity is expressed in near-universal support among policy-makers of a policy of “extended” rather than “minimal” deterrence. Extended deterrence implies a threat to use nuclear weapons first. The change in nuclear policy is the variation in the determination to modernize the nuclear force structure. That is, the actual commitment to prepare to fight and win a nuclear war oscillates from one period to another. Sustained efforts to improve the nuclear force structure have been concentrated in four periods: the Truman administration between 1947 and 1950, the first two years of the Kennedy administration, the last two years of the Nixon administration, and the last year of the Carter administration to the present. The determination to modernize the nuclear force structure is situated within intra-elite debates between advocates of containment and proponents of rollback, and the installation of new foreign policy projects necessary to adjust the position of the U.S. in the world arena
Administration (probate law) · Deterrence theory · Economics · Elite · Foreign policy · Law and economics · Nuclear energy policy · Nuclear ethics · Nuclear power · Nuclear weapon · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Position (finance) · Sociology · European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies · Finance · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Nuclear Issues and Defense
Nuclear Winter
The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy
The State and Political Theory
Politics and Policies of the Truman Administration
American Atomic Strategy and the Hydrogen Bomb Decision
Victory Is Possible
The Nuclear Weapons Industry
Doubletalk
Containment
The Iron Triangle
Call to Mutiny
The Rise and Fall of the ‘Soviet Threat
Atoms, Strategy and Policy
Mad versus Nuts
The Ideological Nature of Nuclear Deterrence
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,11 |
| Citation span | 1988 - 2009 (22) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |