How did guerrilla wars such as the Vietnam War challenge nuclear-deterrence strategy?

Guerrilla wars, such as the Vietnam War, challenged the classical paradigm of nuclear deterrence by demonstrating that nuclear superiority did not guarantee political or military success against unconventional adversaries.12

Nuclear deterrence was designed to prevent major conflicts between superpowers by threatening overwhelming destruction. However, this strategy proved ineffective in the context of guerrilla warfare for several reasons:13

• Inapplicability of Threats: Guerrilla forces often operated without the centralized, high-value infrastructure or urban centers that were the primary targets of nuclear weapons, rendering the threat of massive retaliation largely irrelevant.12
• Asymmetrical Warfare: Adversaries utilized asymmetrical warfare to bypass the technological and nuclear advantages of major powers. By engaging in militia-based, unconventional combat, they exploited the reluctance of democratic nations to accept casualties or use extreme force in conflicts where vital national interests were not directly threatened.4
• Credibility Gap: The use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear, unconventional actors was widely viewed as disproportionate and lacked credibility, as it risked global condemnation and escalation without achieving clear strategic objectives.56

Ultimately, these conflicts highlighted that nuclear weapons could not easily be translated into political influence or victory in limited, localized wars.16