For too long, academia, as well as international policy communities, have spoken in vague terms regarding nuclear modernization. This book provides a much needed, and long overdue, conceptual and comparative study of nuclear modernization in the United States, Russia and China. At a time when so many nuclear weapons states are modernizing their arsenals, and arms control seems to be in decline, this is a must-read for nuclear scholars and practitioners.
Nicola Leveringhaus,
Kings College London, UK
Warren and Baxters new collection of essays is good news for scholars, students, and the policy community. The clear-eyed and concisely written chapters provide a rock solid survey of nuclear modernization underway in the US, Russia, and China. The diverse, mostly younger group of scholars and practitioners also examines the implications nuclear modernization may have for nonproliferation, for international security more generally, and perhaps even for international relations. The ladder may seem unlikely, but in a world where efforts to limit and manage nuclear arsenals are being tossed aside, and where the three largest nuclear powers eye the actions of others with suspicion, todays nuclear modernizations may yet prove to be a pathway to a very different future. Some analyst would welcome that outcome, even as others offer warnings, but all of them will find Nuclear Modernization in the 21st Century a useful guide to an uncertain future.
James J. Walsh,
MIT, Massachusetts, USA
As a new nuclear arms race looms, this important and timely volume assembles leading experts to provide cutting-edge analyses of the plans and programs of the United States, Russia and China to spend billions of dollars on the modernization of their nuclear arsenals. This will be the go-to volume for understanding the new weapons technologies of the major nuclear-weapons states, as well as the likely impact of these ever more sophisticated and dangerous arsenals on global security, stability, and the prospects for proliferation. It will be essential reading for policymakers and academics alike.
Nina Tannenwald,
Brown University, USA
Nuclear Modernization in the 21st Century
This collection examines the extent to which nuclear weapons modernization has become a significant point of concern and consideration in international security. Recent statements and substantial investments by nuclear weapon possessor states in the upkeep and modernization of their nuclear postures particularly the United States, Russia and China illustrate a return of primacy and the salience of nuclear forces in international politics. The upgrading of systems, the introduction of new capabilities, the intermingling of new technologies, and the advancement of new strategic models, are all indicative of their elevation in importance and reliance.
With contributions from leading thinkers in the nuclear weapons domain, this book elucidates the global strategic and policy implications such modernization efforts by the above-mentioned states will have on international security. In unpacking and conceptualizing this developing source of potential (in)security and tension, the collection not only provides a technical context, but also frames the likely effects modernization could have on the relations between these nuclear weapon powers and the larger impact upon efforts to curb nuclear weapons both in terms of horizontal and vertical proliferation. The chapters have been arranged so as to inform a variety of stakeholders, from academics to policy-makers, by connecting analytical and normative insights, and thereby, advancing debates pertaining to where nuclear modernization sits as a point of global security consternation in the 21st century.
Aiden Warren is Associate Professor of International Relations at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. He is the 201819 Fulbright Scholar in Australia-United States Alliance Studies, sponsored by the Australian Governments Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT).
Philip M. Baxter is a Research Fellow with the Center for Policy Research at the University of Albany, founder and director of a data analytics and consultancy firm, and a PhD candidate in International Affairs, Science, and Technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Modern Security Studies
Series editors: Sean S. Costigan and Kenneth W. Estes
This series fills a known gap in modern security studies literature by pursuing a curated, forward-looking editorial approach on looming and evergreen security challenges. Short and long form works will be considered with an eye towards developing content that is widely suitable for instruction and research alike. Works adhere around the series four main categories: Controversies, Cases, Trends and Primers. We invite proposals that pay particular attention to controversies in international security, notably those that have resulted in newly exposed and poorly defined risks to non-state legitimacy, international or state capacities to act, and shifts in global governance. Case studies should examine recent historical events and security-related actions that have altered present day understanding or political calculations. Trends will need to detail future yet tangible concerns in a 510 year timeframe. Authors are also invited to submit proposals to our primers category for short form works on key topics that are referenced and taught throughout security studies.
Verifying Nuclear Disarmament
Thomas Shea
NATOs Democratic Retrenchment
Hegemony after the Return of History
Henrik B. L. Larsen
The Politics and Technology of Cyberspace
Danny Steed
Post-Cold War Anglo-American Military Intervention
A Study of the Dynamics of Legality and Legitimacy
James F.D. Fiddes
Nuclear Modernization in the 21st Century
Edited by Aiden Warren and Philip M. Baxter
For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/politics/series/ASHSER1437
Nuclear Modernization in the 21st Century
Edited by Aiden Warren and Philip M. Baxter
First published 2020
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2020 selection and editorial matter, Aiden Warren and Philip M. Baxter; individual chapters, the contributors
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