Tag: Deterrence

Can Europe Become a Nuclear Power?

Image courtesy of British Ministry of Defence. OGL License.

The article was originally published by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) on 3 September 2018.

Only if Europeans resume a serious debate about their responsibilities for their own security

“Do we need the bomb?” asked the front page of Welt am Sonntag, one of Germany’s biggest newspapers, last month. In an essay in the paper, political scientist Christian Hacke answered “yes”, arguing that, “for the first time since 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany is no longer under the United States’ nuclear umbrella.”

Continue reading “Can Europe Become a Nuclear Power?”

Deterrence in Cyberspace

Image courtesy of Taskin Ashiq/Unsplash.com

This article was originally published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) on 1 June 2018.

Foreword

In the past three years, barely a week has gone by without a report of a critical cyberattack on a business or government institution. We are constantly bombarded by revelations of new ransomware strains, new botnets executing denial of service attacks, and the rapidly expanding use of social media as a disinformation and propaganda platform.

Continue reading “Deterrence in Cyberspace”
Categories
CSS Blog

Strategic Trends 2018

US President Donald Trump returns to the White House after addressing the Republican Congressional Retreat, 1 February 2018. Yuri Gripas / Reuters

Strategic Trends 2018: The CSS has published its annual analysis of major developments in world affairs. The four topics covered include whether or not emerging trends suggest the US could become a less reliable partner for Europe; why Russia and China are likely to continue building closer relations; the potential impact of energy technologies on international politics; and how resilience can act as an instrument of deterrence.

CLICK HERE to download the publication.

Continue reading “Strategic Trends 2018”

“Peace Through Strength”: Deterrence in Chinese Military Doctrine

Image courtesy of thierry ehrmann/Flickr. (CC BY 2.0)

This article was originally published by War on the Rocks on 15 March 2017.

“To pursue peace through strength, it shall be the policy of the United States to rebuild the U.S. Armed Forces.” President Donald J. Trump, January 27, 2017.

“[Gen. Martin Dempsey] told American troops based in Japan on Thursday that ‘the best way to avoid war is to prepare for it.’” Associated Press, April 25, 2013.

The idea of “peace through strength” can be traced back to at least Roman times and almost certainly goes back even further, but in U.S. history, it is associated with Ronald Reagan. In his essay, “The Ancient Foreign Policy,” historian Victor Davis Hanson salutes its origins and links this “common wisdom” to the concept of deterrence.

Continue reading ““Peace Through Strength”: Deterrence in Chinese Military Doctrine”

A New Strategy for Deterrence and Rollback with North Korea

Image courtesy of (stephan)/Flickr. (CC BY-SA 2.0)

This article was originally published by War on the Rocks on 19 October 2017.

On Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said of North Korea that the current U.S. “focus is on diplomacy to solve this problem that is presented by the DPRK. We must, however…be prepared for the worst, should diplomacy fail.” Not surprisingly, most recent commentary and analysis on the current North Korea crisis has focused on the prospects of either a near-term conflict or a diplomatic way out. That focus is understandable, but fixates on the two least likely outcomes. Rather than preparing for diplomatic or warfighting scenarios with a nuclear-armed North Korea, the United States should be preparing for a sustained period of deterrence, coercive diplomacy, and rollback. This is the best approach to achieve the international community’s long-stated goal of the eventual peaceful denuclearization and reunification of the Korean Peninsula at an acceptable cost.

Continue reading “A New Strategy for Deterrence and Rollback with North Korea”