Limiting Nuclear War

Abstract

We now address the momentous question left over from the previous discussion: what are the chances of stopping or limiting a nuclear conflict once begun and preventing escalation to a full-scale nuclear war? As President Reagan found to his cost in the autumn of 1981, leading statesmen are likely to earn more pain than profit from discussing the question publicly. Here truly is an area where, if America sneezes, Europe will catch cold. In the whole field of dynamic stability, however, there is no more critical question. If the answer should be that the chances of stopping or limiting nuclear war are not good, the further question would arise whether there are any circumstances in which it would be rational to initiate the use of nuclear weapons.