Overview

"The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, in the hands of both states and terrorist networks, is considered by many to be the greatest threat to global security today. ""Contemporary Nuclear Debates"" discusses the key issues surrounding that threat. The book is divided into four parts. Part 1, ""US National Missile Defence: When and How?"" presents an overview of the missile defence debate and examines the merits of different deployment systems, such as sea-based, space-based and boost-phase. Part 2, ""Global Perceptions of Missile Defence"", goes beyond the standard debate about the risks and benefits of missile defences to examine the specific potential reactions of major countries, including China, India, Iran, Japan and Russia. Part 3, ""Do Arms Races Matter Anymore?"" asks which countries, if any, have the capability to conduct an arms race with the United States, whether any country would choose to do so, and what weapons a country might build in response to a US missile defence deployment. Part 4, ""Is Arms Control Dead?"" discusses the circumstances under which arms control is useful today, new principles upon which it can be based, and new visions for its future."

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Reviews

This is an interesting and provocative collection of essays that address a once-forgotten, now all-too-relevant set of issues. This volume will be required reading for those with a serious interest in arms races, arms control, and missile defense. --Steven Miller, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University The distinguishing feature of this volume is its bringing together of an expert group, both American and foreign, to present a broad array of informed, critical analyses of some of the most pressing issues in international security today. --Mitchell B. Reiss, Dean of International Affairs, College of William and Mary Contemporary Nuclear Debates updates the strategic framework within which decisions about the role of nuclear weapons should be made. These three questions--what missile defense system should the U.S. deploy? Do arms races matter anymore? Is arms control dead?--are the central ones that need to be addressed. Today's and tomorrow's strategic thinkers will be informed by this comprehensive set of answers, representing American and global views on all sides of these critical debates. --John Hamre, President, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense For those tired of the old arguments--welcome to the new arguments. No matter what your position, Contemporary Nuclear Debates is a treasure trove of informed analysis and new thinking on some of today's most critical issues. --Joseph Cirincione, Director, Carnegie Endowment Non-Proliferation Project One of the tremendous ironies of the post-Cold War world -and an important focus of this book - is that the United States and the Russian Federation may face a greater threat today than we did at the height of the Cold War. --Senator Richard Lugar Could missile defense and arms control advance the US and international security in the new century? Contemporary Nuclear Debates is a remarkable contribution to the current deliberation --Dingli Shen, Professor and Deputy Director, Center for American Studies, Fudan University, China Contemporary Nuclear Debates succeeds admirably in presenting a wide range of views on traditional nuclear questions recast in the current international environment. Especially noteworthy is its treatment of the potential impact of a limited US national missile defense. --Dean A. Wilkening, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University

Author Information

Alexander T. J. Lennon is the editor-in-chief of The Washington Quarterly, the flagship journal of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He is also a fellow in the international security program at CSIS, and an adjunct professor in Georgetown University's Security Studies program. He is the editor of The Epicenter of Crisis: The New Middle East; Reshaping Rogue States (MIT Press, 2008) : Preemption, Regime Change, and U.S. Policy Toward Iran, Iraq, and North Korea (MIT Press, 2004) ; The Battle for Hearts and Minds: Using Soft Power to Undermine Terrorist Networks (MIT Press, 2003) , What Does the World Want from America? and Contemporary Nuclear Debates (MIT Press, both 2002) , and the coeditor (with Michael T. Mazarr) of Toward a Nuclear Peace (St. Martin's Press, 1994).

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