Inadvertent Escalation: Conventional War and Nuclear Risks

Author:   Barry R. Posen
Publisher:   Cornell University Press
ISBN:  

9780801478857


Pages:   296
Publication Date:   13 January 2014
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Inadvertent Escalation: Conventional War and Nuclear Risks


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Overview

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.

Full Product Details

Author:   Barry R. Posen
Publisher:   Cornell University Press
Imprint:   Cornell University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.10cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9780801478857


ISBN 10:   0801478855
Pages:   296
Publication Date:   13 January 2014
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

"1. Introduction: A Model of Inadvertent Escalation 2. Air War and Inadvertent Nuclear Escalation 3. The Balance of Ground Forces on the Central Front 4. Escalation and NATO's Northern Flank 5. ""Offensive"" and ""Defensive"" Sea Control: A Comparative Assessment 6. Conclusion Appendix 1. The Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) Model Appendix 2. Central Region Close Air Support Aircraft and Atack Helicopters (1988) Appendix 3. The Attrition-FEBA Expansion Model: Symphony Version Appendix 4. A Barrier Defense Model Selected Bibliography Index"

Reviews

<p> 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


<p> 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


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


Author Information

Barry R. Posen is Ford International Professor of Political Science and director of the Security Studies Program at MIT. He is the author of The Sources of Military Doctrine: France, Britain, and Germany between the World Wars (winner of the Furniss Award and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award), Inadvertent Escalation: Conventional War and Nuclear Risks, and Restraint: A New Foundation for U.S. Grand Strategy, all from Cornell.

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