POLSCI 1AB3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Nuclear Arms Race, Rationality, Deterrence Theory
11 Apr 2018
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Document Summary
The cold war was more than just a military standoff between two powerful states. Both sides also represented fundamentally different economic, political, and ideological systems. It was assumed by most, including strategic planners, that the cold war would continue until it reached a tipping point when armed conflict would ultimately resolve the issue. Nuclear deterrence is a security strategy based upon a simple premise: Any invasion directed at the nuclear state or its allies will automatically be responded to with a devastating nuclear retaliation. In essence deterrence make the cost of military conflict too high for it to be rational. If this logic is extended to a bi-polar system where both parties have access to nuclear weapons, the net result is the only outcome that would result from either side using its weapons against its opponent. For mad to work certain conditions have to be met: rationality.
