Power Versus Prudence: Why Nations Forgo Nuclear Weapons Volume 2

by Linda Paul, T.V. Paul, Teleglobe Raoul-Dandurand Chair of Strategic and Diplomatic Studies Staff, et al.

Book Overview

In Power versus Prudence Paul develops a prudential-realist model, arguing that a nation's national nuclear choices depend on specific regional security contexts: the non-great power states most likely to forgo nuclear weapons are those in zones of low and moderate conflict, while nations likely to acquire such capability tend to be in zones of high conflict and engaged in protracted conflicts and enduring rivalries. He demonstrates that the choice...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0773520872
• ISBN13: 9780773520875
• Release Date: July 2000
• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

New theory of nuclear armament

This book is quite revolutionary because instead of asking the question why states develop nuclear weapons, T.V. Paul ask why, despite their perceived utility, states choose NOT to develop nuclear weapons. Situated within the realist school of thought, it offers a new way of looking at deterrence in conflict prone regions.

An Outstanding Book!

An outstanding book that explains the puzzle of so many technologically-capable countries forbearing nuclear possession. Very few previous studies on this subject have developed a cogent theoretical model as this book does. Paul develops a 'prudential-realist model' which has implications for international relations theory and foreign policy analysis. Extremeley well-written. The case studies reveal new data on the past search for nuclear weapons by countries such as Sweden, Switzerland and Australia.