When Albert Wohlstetter’s essay “The Delicate Balance of Terror” was published in Foreign Affairs in early 1959, the world had survived nearly a decade with two nuclear-armed superpowers. Both the United States and the Soviet Union were capable of catastrophic destruction, but for either side to trigger nuclear war seemed, to many observers, “irrational or even insane.”
Wohlstetter set out to disabuse U.S. policymakers of the idea that deterrence was “automatic” or “inevitable.” Maintaining peace, he argued, “will be much harder to achieve … than is generally believed.” His warnings would guide U.S. nuclear strategy for the rest of the Cold War. Given that no country has used a nuclear weapon in war since the United States did in 1945, Wohlstetter’s analysis has been criticized as overly pessimistic. But at this moment in particular, his basic point bears remembering: avoiding catastrophe requires “sustained intelligent effort and hard choices, responsibly made.” — Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, Editor
Is there a Foreign Affairs essay you want to see in this newsletter? Let us know.
© 2022 Council on Foreign Relations | 58 East 68 Street, New York NY | 10065
To celebrate our centennial year, we'll be sending you the Foreign Affairs: 100 Years newsletter every week until our anniversary issue in September. You can change your newsletter preferences at any time here.
Have questions about your subscription? Learn more about all your subscriber benefits here or visit our Frequently Asked Questions.
|
