Article
India’s Counterforce Temptations: Strategic Dilemmas, Doctrine, and Capabilities
Christopher Clary and Vipin Narang
Since 2003, India has been building its nuclear arsenal beyond what is necessary for a purely retaliatory or minimum deterrence capability. India’s actions could lead to a regional arms race or even the use of nuclear weapons in a war with Pakistan.
The Demographic Transition Theory of War: Why Young Societies Are Conflict Prone and Old Societies Are the Most Peaceful
Deborah Jordan Brooks, Stephen G. Brooks, Brian D. Greenhill, and Mark L. Haas
Many states with young populations are growing old fast. If states with older populations engage in violent conflict less frequently than states with large numbers of young people, the implications for the international order could be significant.
Bad World: The Negativity Bias in International Politics
Dominic D.P. Johnson and Dominic Tierney
Negative phenomena more strongly influence leaders’ judgments and decisionmaking than do positive phenomena. This so-called negativity bias helps explain state behavior that contributes to the security dilemma, threat inflation, and the persistence of war.
Nationalism, Collaboration, and Resistance: France under Nazi Occupation
Matthew Adam Kocher, Adria K. Lawrence, and Nuno P. Monteiro
Many scholars and analysts suggest that nationalism produces resistance against foreign powers, but a reconsideration of the German occupation of France in World War II reveals how a population might instead choose acquiescence or active collaboration. Domestic political competition and the international context prevented French nationalism from being translated into wholesale resistance.
Why China Has Not Caught Up Yet: Military-Technological Superiority, Systems Integration, and the Challenges of Imitation, Reverse Engineering, and Cyber-Espionage
Andrea Gilli and Mauro Gilli
The extraordinary complexity of today’s advanced weapons systems has significantly reduced the ability of states to imitate other states’ military technology. Consequently, U.S. rivals such as China will continue to struggle to develop indigenous capabilities that can match those of the United States.
Recommended citation
"International Security Journal Highlights." Belfer Center Newsletter. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School (Spring 2019).