Studying war in the new nuclear age
Prof. Caitlin Talmadge scrutinizes military postures and international dynamics to understand the risks of escalation.
“A scenario that’s interested me a lot is one where the conduct of a conventional war actually raises specific nuclear escalation risks,” says Raphael Dorman and Helen Starbuck Associate Professor Caitlin Talmadge, noting that military operations may put pressure on an adversary’s nuclear capabilities. “There are many other instabilities in the world. But I’ve gotten pretty interested in what it means that the U.S., unlike in the Cold War when there was more of a bipolar competition, now faces multiple nuclear-armed adversaries.”
Photo credit: Bruce Vickmark