Description
Book SynopsisMuch recent writing about international politics understandably highlights the many changes that have followed from the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. This book, by contrast, analyzes an important continuity that, the author argues, will characterize international strategic affairs well into the new century: nuclear deterrence will remain at the core of the security policies of the world''s great powers and will continue to be an attractive option for many less powerful states worried about adversaries whose capabilities they cannot match.
The central role of nuclear deterrence persists despite the advent of a new international system in which serious military threats are no longer obvious, the use of force is judged irrelevant to resolving most international disputes, and states'' interests are increasingly defined in economic rather than military terms. Indeed, the author suggests why these changes may increase the appeal of nuclear deterren
Trade Review
"This is a semitheoretical survey of the security policies of three middle powers . . . during the last half of the twentieth century, with an argument that their common experiences form a useful template for predicting the future role of nuclear weapons, including proliferation. The three case studies are superbly done." -- Political Science Quarterly
"Avery Goldstein's book, Deterrence and Security in the 21st Century: China, Britain, France, and the Enduring Legacy of the Nuclear Revolution, provides a well-written and historically grounded look at the likely nature of emerging nuclear security relationships. . . . Goldstein's book makes a subtantial contribution to the existing security literature. . . . Goldstein's insights . . . have great applicability for understanding post-Cold War security dynamics and similar patterns shaping the behavior of both new nuclear states and would-be nulcear states" -- International Politics
"This book is welcome for the historical analyses of the smaller nuclear powers. . . ."—American Political Science Review
"Goldstein's excellent book helps explain why three very different countries—Britain, France, and China—all sought an independent nuclear deterrent despite, and, perhaps, because of their security alliances with nuclear superpowers. This accessible and well-crafted work will be useful not only to diplomatic historians and international relations theorists, but also to policy analysts who are examining why certain relatively weak states are currently pursuing the nuclear option." -- Thomas Christensen * Massachusetts Institute of Technology *
"Deterrence and Security in the 21st Century is a valuable and provocative contribution to the current debate about the future of nuclear deterrence." -- Journal of Strategic Studies
"A decade after the end of the cold war, nuclear issues have come to the fore again, but the focus now is much less on superpowers and much more on middle or regional powers. In a subtle combination of theory and empirical cases, Professor Goldstein examines the trade offs confronting states considering the nuclear option. This book is essential reading for anyone studying deterrence theory or nuclear proliferation." -- Robert Powell, University of California * Berkeley *
Table of Contents
1. Introduction; 2. Theoretical foundation; 3. China: strategic choices: 4. China: nuclear deterrent; 5. Britain; 6. France; 7. Nuclear weapons states in the post-Cold War world; 8. Legacy of the nuclear revolution for the twenty-first century.
