1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910554498103321

Autore

Whitlark Rachel Elizabeth

Titolo

All options on the table : leaders, preventive war, and nuclear proliferation / / Rachel Elizabeth Whitlark [[electronic resource]]

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Ithaca : , : Cornell University Press, , 2022

ISBN

1-5017-6035-1

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (275 pages)

Collana

Cornell studies in security affairs

Cornell scholarship online

Disciplina

355.02

Soggetti

Deterrence (Strategy)

Preemptive attack (Military science)

Nuclear arms control

International relations - History - 20th century

International relations - History - 21st century

Executive power

Heads of state - Psychology

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Previously issued in print: 2021.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

When leaders use preventive military force -- Explaining preventive war as a counter-proliferation strategy -- JFK and LBJ confront China's nuclear program -- Presidents 41 and 42 engage North Korea's nuclear program -- Three American presidents tangle with Iraq's nuclear program -- Israel's preventive war decision-making -- Conclusions and implications: theory, practice, and future.

Sommario/riassunto

When is preventive war chosen to counter nuclear proliferation? In 'All Options on the Table', Rachel Elizabeth Whitlark looks beyond systemic and slow-moving factors such as the distribution of power. Instead, she highlights individual leaders' beliefs to explain when preventive military force is the preferred strategy. Executive perspective - not institutional structure - is paramount. Whitlark makes her argument through archivally based comparative case studies. She focuses on executive decision making regarding nuclear programs in China, North Korea, Iraq, Pakistan and Syria.