| ID | 142787 |
| Title Proper | People's nuclear weapon |
| Other Title Information | strategic culture and the development of China's nuclear weapons program |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Babiarz, Renny |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | China's nuclear weapons modernization during the last 25 years has spawned analyses regarding the strategic intent behind these technological developments, to include the possibility of a Chinese challenge to U.S. military superiority in the Asia–Pacific region. Yet analysis of the historical development trajectory of China's nuclear weapons program suggests it was never intended to support a direct military challenge. Indeed, after developing a nuclear-weapons capability in the 1960s, China produced only a small number of vulnerable nuclear weapons against the expectation of nuclear deterrence theory and despite confrontational relations with both nuclear superpowers. To explain China's nuclear choices, I utilize newly available information to argue that China's Mao-era strategic culture—with its emphasis on conventional weaponry utilized according to People's War principles—limited the initial scope of its nuclear weapons program. |
| `In' analytical Note | Comparative Strategy Vol. 34, No.5; Nov-Dec 2015: p.422-446 |
| Journal Source | Comparative Strategy Vol: 34 No 5 |
| Key Words | Strategic Culture ; China's Nuclear Weapons Program ; People's Nuclear Weapon |