nuclear strategy: References & Edit History
More Articles On This Topic
Additional Reading
Historical background to contemporary strategic thinking is found in Peter Paret (ed.), Makers of Modern Strategy (1986). An overall survey is John Baylis et al., Strategy in the Contemporary World: An Introduction to Strategic Studies (2002). Lawrence Freedman, The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy, 3rd ed. (2004), summarizes the history of thought on nuclear strategy. Fred Kaplan, The Wizards of Armageddon (1983), is a look at the thinkers and strategists themselves.
The classics of postwar strategic thinking include Bernard Brodie, Strategy in the Missile Era (1959); Herman Kahn, On Thermonuclear War, 2nd ed. (1961, reprinted 1978), and On Escalation: Metaphors and Scenarios (1965, reprinted 1986); and Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict (1960, reprinted 1980), and Arms and Influence (1966, reprinted 1976). Among later contributions, Edward N. Luttwak, Strategy: The Logic of War and Peace, 2nd ed. (2002), is a complex scholarly treatment of strategy as a system of thought; and Colin Gray, Modern Strategy (1999), provides a challenging critique of contemporary thinking.
Guides to theories of deterrence are found in Patrick M. Morgan, Deterrence Now (2003); and Lawrence Freedman, Deterrence (2004). Analyses of deterrence in practice include Alexander L. George and Richard Smoke, Deterrence in American Foreign Policy: Theory and Practice (1974). Paul Bracken, The Command and Control of Nuclear Forces (1983), is another authoritative treatment; and John J. Mearsheimer, Conventional Deterrence (1983), applies the deterrence theory to land warfare. An analysis of the strategic implications of recent conflicts is found in Rupert Smith, The Utility of Force in the Modern World (2006).
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
- Lawrence D. Freedman
-
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors
Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top Questions added. | Mar 24, 2026 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Aug 05, 2022 | ||
| Revised to mention the conflict in Ukraine and the expansion of Chinese influence in the Pacific. | Oct 05, 2015 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Nov 19, 2007 | ||
| Bibliography revised and updated. | Nov 19, 2007 |