Book Review: The Americas: No Use: Nuclear Weapons and US National Security

Abstract

This book offers a critical analysis of the significance of nuclear weapons and their implications for the current international system. Thomas Nichols focuses in particular on the impact of nuclear weapons on the evolution of US nuclear doctrine and national security in the post-Cold War period. As underlined by the author, some scholars and policy makers believed that the demise of the Soviet Union marked the end of concerns related to a nuclear confrontation between the two superpowers and also of the strategic and symbolic nature of nuclear weapons. Some policy makers and non-proliferation experts supported proposals for the reduction of nuclear arsenals by the US and other countries, while others called for a world free from nuclear weapons. Despite the growing optimism that characterised the early 1990s and the lively debates on non-proliferation, nuclear arms are still 'a routine part of the lives of great powers' (p. xi). The book is divided into four parts. Chapter 1 provides a detailed historical background of the role and the concepts that influenced US nuclear strategies from 1950 to 1990. Chapter 2 focuses on the post-Cold War period, describing American attempts to revise its nuclear strategy and to make it more adequate to face new challenges. Chapter 3 highlights the advantages deriving from a revision of US nuclear strategy around the concept of 'minimum nuclear deterrence'. The final section explores the dilemma of how to deal with small states' nuclear aspirations. Thomas M. Nichols is a professor at the Naval War College and an eminent expert on non-proliferation and arms control. His extensive knowledge on this subject makes this study one of the most accurate accounts on non-proliferation and on the evolution of American nuclear strategy. No Use represents an interesting and useful read for students new to the discipline of nuclear history and IR who want to learn more about the role played by these strategic weapons and the various concepts that have influenced American nuclear doctrine. It is also of interest to scholars and practitioners.