Nuclear Issues

China is developing new bombs, new missiles and new ways of launching them.

China and the United States hold opposing beliefs about whether nuclear war can be avoided in a potential crisis or armed conflict. Taken together, these opposing beliefs increase the risk of nuclear escalation and can lead to greater crisis instability.

Domestic politics play a significant role in nuclear decisionmaking under two conditions: when uncertainty over the nature and intensity of a threat is high, and when leaders are incentivized to centralize nuclear policymaking.

The competition between the United States and China will decide the continent's fate—and one of them has a head start.

Stephen Walt describes what a commonsense U.S. foreign policy would look like.

Is India shifting to a nuclear counterforce strategy?

What explains the scale and speed of nuclear proliferation? One key factor is the level of competition among suppliers in the market for nuclear materials and technologies. When suppliers form a cartel, fewer countries can acquire what they need for a nuclear weapons program. If great power competition intensifies, suppliers will find it harder to cooperate and nuclear proliferation could accelerate.

Stephen Walt writes that the era of unilateralism is over—and Washington is the last to realize it.

Political scientist Christopher Clary discusses issues pertaining to strategic stability in South Asia