The Primacy of Alliance: Deterrence and European Security

Summary:

After the end of the Cold War, the international security environment was transformed and nuclear weapons became marginalised in the West. However, the NATO security policies remained almost unchanged: deterrence was still considered as a principle guiding the Atlantic Alliance, even though the actual policy statements lacked target, direction and urgency. Questioning the credibility of deterrence in Europe and its future, this text recalls that it lied first and foremost with solidarity and political cohesion among members of the Alliance, and only secondly with the threat of nuclear retaliation.

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