Games of Chicken: Four Decades of U.S. Nuclear Policy

By David Schwartzman

Games of Chicken proposes basing nuclear weapons policies on both historical and analytical arguments. Schwartzman analyzes the trade-off between the aggression risk, which U.S. policy has sought to minimize, and the pre-emption risk, which has been ignored. This analysis is then applied to policy developments under each of the post-war U.S. presidents. The historical analysis also demonstrates the importance of the role of myths in the development of policy, most notably: the myth of the nuclear strategy expert; the evil empire myth; and the economic necessity myth. Finally, the author proposes a viable solution to the increasing build-up of nuclear weapons, one which would minimize the preemption risk.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0275928845
• ISBN13: 9780275928841
• Release Date: February 1988
• Publisher: Praeger
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"