title: Deterring Limited Nuclear War in the 21st Century: The Challenge for the United States
abstract: After decades of nuclear competition, the United States and Soviet Union were able to come together in 1986 around the proposition that nuclear wars cannot be won and thus must not be fought. Decades after the Cold War, policymakers and experts in the United States continue to hold this view. But in the capitals of potential adversary countries, a different proposition appears to be taking hold: that nuclear wars can be won because they can be kept limited, and thus can be fought—even against th