| Summary/Abstract |
The concept of deterrence can be simply explained as the use of threat
to convince others to desist from initiating some course of action. A
threat serves as a deterrent to the extent that it convinces its adversary
not to carry out the intended action because of the exorbitant costs and
losses that it would incur. A policy of deterrence generally refers to threats
of military retaliation directed by one state to another in an attempt to
prevent the other state from resorting to the threat of use of military force
in pursuit of its foreign policy goals. In this context, as long as nuclear
weapons are around, even in small numbers, deterrence is the safest policy
to deal with them. This was true during the Cold War, and it appears to
be even truer today
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