Bridging the Wrong Gap?
Bridging the Wrong Gap?

Summary/Abstract: What does it mean to bridge a gap? In his recent book, The Logic of American Nuclear Strategy, Matthew Kroenig explores the puzzle of why US policymakers pursue a policy of nuclear superiority when scholars of nuclear strategy have long predicted that in order to deter a nuclear war, states only need enough nuclear weapons for a secure second-strike capability. The purported gap, then, is between foreign policy practice and scholarly predictions. In addressing this puzzle, Kroenig demonstrates the strategic and rational reasons why we often observe states (but primarily the United States) pursuing superiority beyond second-strike capability.

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