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Barry R. Posen - Inadvertent Escalation: Conventional War and Nuclear Risks - 9780801478857 - V9780801478857
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Inadvertent Escalation: Conventional War and Nuclear Risks

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Description for Inadvertent Escalation: Conventional War and Nuclear Risks Paperback. Series: Cornell Studies in Security Affairs. Num Pages: 296 pages, 34, 22 tables, 12 figures. BIC Classification: JWA; JWMN. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 228 x 152 x 18. Weight in Grams: 418.

In this sobering book, Barry R. Posen demonstrates how the interplay between conventional military operations and nuclear forces could, in conflicts among states armed with both conventional and nuclear weaponry, inadvertently produce pressures for nuclear escalation. Knowledge of these hidden pressures, he believes, may help some future decision maker avoid catastrophe.Building a formidable argument that moves with cumulative force, he details the way in which escalation could occur not by mindless accident, or by deliberate preference for nuclear escalation, but rather as a natural accompaniment of land, naval, or air warfare at the conventional level. Posen bases his analysis on an empirical study of the east-west military competition in Europe during the 1980s, using a conceptual framework drawn from international relations theory, organization theory, and strategic theory.The lessons of his book, however, go well beyond the east-west competition. Since his observations are relevant to all military competitions between states armed with both conventional and nuclear weaponry, his book speaks to some of the problems that attend the proliferation of nuclear weapons in longstanding regional conflicts. Optimism that small and medium nuclear powers can easily achieve "stable" nuclear balances is, he believes, unwarranted.

Product Details

Format
Paperback
Publication date
2014
Publisher
Cornell University Press United States
Number of pages
328
Condition
New
Series
Cornell Studies in Security Affairs
Number of Pages
296
Place of Publication
Ithaca, United States
ISBN
9780801478857
SKU
V9780801478857
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
Ref
99-1

About Barry R. Posen
Barry R. Posen is Ford International Professor of Political Science at MIT and Director of the MIT Security Studies Program. He is the author of The Sources of Military Doctrine, also from Cornell.

Reviews for Inadvertent Escalation: Conventional War and Nuclear Risks
Inadvertent Escalation makes a truly unique, original contribution to security issues and should make defense planners grapple with conventional and nuclear linkages in future conflicts. Posen's answer gives wisdom to innocent defense planners as they venture forth into a post-Cold War world.
Military Review
As long as nuclear weapons exist, they may be used, and Barry Posen's book is a valuable contribution to thinking about ways in which nuclear use might come about.
International Affairs
Posen... does a masterful job of effectively utilizing detailed information to demonstrate the complex interplay of force postures, strategic doctrines, and decision-making dynamics. In these respects, the author's contribution transcends the time frame dominated by two superpowers armed with gargantuan nuclear arsenals.
Choice
Posen has written a provocative and important book... which explores an issue that could increase in relevance as nuclear weapons proliferate throughout the Third World.
Intelligence and National Security

Goodreads reviews for Inadvertent Escalation: Conventional War and Nuclear Risks


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