Conventional Deterrence

John J. Mearsheimer

Published by Cornell University Press 1985

Conventional Deterrence

John J. Mearsheimer

In the series Cornell Studies in Security Affairs

https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501713262

Overview
Contents

About this book

Conventional Deterrence is a book about the origins of war. Why do nations faced with the prospect of large-scale conventional war opt for or against an offensive strategy? John J. Mearsheimer examines a number of crises that led to major conventional wars to explain why deterrence failed.

Author / Editor information

John J. Mearsheimer is R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. He is the author of many books, including Why Leaders Lie: The Truth about Lying in International Politics.

Reviews

Mearsheimer offers a fine example of how defense policy analysis should be conducted. He demonstrates an excellent grasp of proportion and priority in concentrating on some of the most important yet understudied questions of deterrence and modern warfare. Why, he asks, are offensive strategies accepted or avoided by states facing the prospect of large-scale conventional war? In answering this question, Mearsheimer confronts other questions of politics and perceptions that the strategic nuclear deadlock has only accentuated. The historic and technical details are handled masterfully while lessons are drawn for assessing the pivotal military balance in central Europe. This is a sophisticated yet thoroughly lucid book worthy of careful attention by any student of U.S. national security policy.

Lawrence Freedman:

John Mearsheimer has got his timing just right. There is much current talk about the need to this and do that to bolster NATO's conventional forces, but there is no conceptual framework for assessing all these proposals. This is a carefully argued and well-written study that should immediately raise the quality of the debate. Most importantly, it draws effectively on history to illuminate contemporary problems.

An intelligent, well-researched, and organized study.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	1
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	5
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
1. Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	13
2. Conventional Deterrence Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	23
3. The Allied Decision Not to Attack Germany, March 1939-May 1940 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	67
4. The German Decision to Attack in the West, 1939-1940 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	99
5. Conventional Deterrence and the Arab-Israeli Conflict Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	134
6. The Prospects for Conventional Deterrence in Central Europe Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165
7. Precision-Guided Munitions and Conventional Deterrence Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
8. Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	203
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
Select Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	273
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	291

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