Nuclear Strategy and Proliferation
Provides an introduction to the politics and theories surrounding the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Introduces the basics of nuclear weapons, nuclear strategy, and deterrence theory. Examines the historical record during the Cold War as well as the proliferation of nuclear weapons to regional powers and the resulting deterrence consequences.
Fall 2015 · The Politics of Nuclear Proliferation: Nuclear History, Strategy, and Statecraft
This course provides an introduction to the politics and theories surrounding the proliferation of nuclear weapons. It introduces the basics of nuclear weapons, nuclear strategy, and deterrence theory. It also examines the historical record during the Cold War as well as the proliferation of nuclear weapons to regional powers and the resulting deterrence consequences.
Readings
- Gavin, Francis J. Nuclear Statecraft: History and Strategy in America’s Atomic Age . Cornell University Press, 2015. ISBN: 9780801456756.
- [G] = Gavin, Francis J. Nuclear Statecraft: History and Strategy in America’s Atomic Age . Cornell University Press, 2015. ISBN: 9780801456756.
- [S] = Sagan, Scott D., and Kenneth N. Waltz. The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: An Enduring Debate . 3rd edition. W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. ISBN: 9780393920109.
- SES #: 1 · TOPICS: Class Overview · READINGS: No readings assigned
- [C] Chapter 1: Building the Bomb.
- [C] Chapter 2: Controlling the Bomb.
- [C] Chapter 3: Racing with the Bomb.
- [G] Chapter 1: History, Theory, and Statecraft in the Nuclear Age.
- Younger, Stephen M. “A Short History of Nuclear Weapons.” Chapter 1 in The Bomb: A New History . Ecco, 2010. ISBN: 9780061537202.
- Freedman, Lawrence. “The Rise and Fall of Deterrence.” Chapter 1 in Deterrence . Polity, 2004. ISBN: 9780745631134.
- ———. “The Meaning of Deterrence.” Chapter 2 in Deterrence . Polity, 2004. ISBN: 9780745631134.
- 6 · Nuclear Weapons and the Early Cold War · Holloway, David. “Nuclear Weapons and the Escalation of the Cold War, 1945–1962.” Chapter 18 in The Cambridge History of the Cold War, Volume I: Origins . Edited by Melvyn P. Leffler and Odd Arne Westad. Cambridge University Press, 2012. ISBN: 9781107602298.
- [T] Chapter 3: A ‘Wasting Asset’; American Strategy and the Shifting Nuclear Balance, 1949–1954.
- [G] Chapter 3: Nuclear Weapons, Statecraft, and the Berlin Crisis, 1958–1962.
- [T] Chapter 5: The Berlin Crisis.
- [T] Chapter 6: The Influence of Nuclear Weapons in the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- Hershberg, James G. “The Cuban Missile Crisis.” Chapter 4 in The Cambridge History of the Cold War, Volume II: Crises and Détente . Edited by Melvyn P. Leffler and Odd Arne Westad. Cambridge University Press, 2012. ISBN: 9781107602304.
- [G] Chapter 4: Blasts from the Past: Proliferation Lessons from the 1960s.
- [S] Chapter 1: More May Be Better.
- [S] Chapter 2: More Will Be Worse.
- [S] Chapter 3: Waltz Responds to Sagen.
- [S] Chapter 4: Sagen Responds to Waltz.
- [T] Chapter 1: Strategic Thought in America, 1952–1966.
- Burr, William, and David Alan Rosenberg. “Nuclear Competition in an Era of Stalemate, 1963–1975.” Chapter 5 in The Cambridge History of the Cold War . Volume II, Crises and Détente . Edited by Melvyn P. Leffler and Odd Arne Westad. Cambridge University Press, 2012. ISBN: 9781107602304.
- [G] Chapter 6: That Seventies Show: The Consequences of Parity Revisited.
- Nuti, Leopoldo, Frédéric Bozo, et al., eds. “Editor’s Introduction.” In The Euromissile Crisis and the End of the Cold War . Edited by Leopoldo Nuti, Frédéric Bozo, et al. Stanford University Press, 2015. ISBN: 9780804792868.
- Holloway, David. “The Dynamics of the Euromissile Crisis, 1977-1983.” Chapter 1 in The Euromissile Crisis and the End of the Cold War . Edited by Leopoldo Nuti, Frédéric Bozo, et al. Stanford University Press, 2015. ISBN: 9780804792868.
- [T] Chapter 7: Making Sense of the Nuclear Age.
- [G] Chapter 7: Same as It Ever Was? Nuclear Weapons in the Twenty-First Century.
- [G] Chapter 8: Global Zero, History, and the ‘Nuclear Revolution’.
Prerequisites & course information
Prereq: None Acad Year 2027-2028: U (Fall) Acad Year 2028-2029: Not offered 3-0-9 units. HASS-S
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Fall 2015
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.