Just and Unjust Nuclear Deterrence

Abstract

In this essay, I propose five principles to make U.S. nuclear deterrence policy more just and effective in the future: sever the link between the mass killing of innocent civilians and nuclear deterrence by focusing targeting on adversaries' military power and senior political leadership, not their population; never use or plan to use a nuclear weapon against any target that could be destroyed or neutralized by conventional weapons; reject belligerent reprisal threats against civilians even in response to enemy attacks on one's own or allied civilians; replace nuclear calculated ambiguity threats against biological or cyberattacks with deterrence by denial strategies; and work in good faith toward eventual nuclear disarmament.