ID | 175631 |
Title Proper | Visions of the next war or reliving the last one? early alliance views of war with the Soviet Bloc |
Language | ENG |
Author | Michaels, Jeffrey H |
Summary / Abstract (Note) | This article examines the early NATO discourse to illuminate ideas about a future war with the Soviet Bloc. World War Two provided an important cognitive script for conceptualizing a Third World War, with the impact of the nuclear ‘revolution’ being less dominant than generally believed. I argue that officials were unable to devise a script in which the Soviet Union could conquer Western Europe and then defeat the United States. Although this inability to achieve “final victory” was believed enough to deter Moscow from aggression, the need to reassure European Allies led NATO to adopt the “forward strategy”. |
`In' analytical Note | Journal of Strategic Studies Vol. 43, No.6-7; Dec 2020: p.990-1013 |
Journal Source | Journal of Strategic Studies Vol: 43 No 6-7 |
Key Words | NATO ; Nuclear Weapons ; Deterrence ; Future war ; Third World War |