Approaching Critical Mass: Asia’s Multipolar Nuclear Future

Approaching Critical Mass
Asia's Multipolar Nuclear Future

by Benjamin Schreer, Kang Choi, P.K. Singh, Noboru Yamaguchi, Christopher P. Twomey, Rajesh Basrur, and Aaron L. Friedberg
December 17, 2014

Is the world approaching “critical mass,” a point at which the number and size of nuclear arsenals and the dangers associated with them will grow with explosive speed? In this roundtable, leading scholars discuss the nuclear security environment in Asia and draw implications both for U.S. policy and the international order.

Is the world approaching “critical mass,” a point at which the number and size of nuclear arsenals and the dangers associated with them will grow with explosive speed? In this roundtable, leading scholars discuss the nuclear security environment in Asia and draw implications for U.S. policy and for the international order.

Introduction: Dangerous Dynamism in Asia’s Nuclear Future
Christopher P. Twomey

Nuclear Stability and Polarity in Post-Cold War Asia
Rajesh Basrur

China’s Development of a More Secure Nuclear Second-Strike Capability: Implications for Chinese Behavior and U.S. Extended Deterrence
Benjamin Schreer

The Utility of Nuclear and Conventional Forces in the Second Nuclear Age: A Japanese Military Perspective
Noboru Yamaguchi

The North Korean Nuclear Problem: Twenty Years of Crisis
Kang Choi

The India-Pakistan Nuclear Dyad and Regional Nuclear Dynamics
P.K. Singh

The Evolving Nuclear Order: Implications for Proliferation, Arms Racing, and Stability
Aaron L. Friedberg


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Asia Policy is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal presenting policy-relevant academic research on the Asia-Pacific that draws clear and concise conclusions useful to today’s policymakers. Asia Policy is published quarterly in January, April, July, and October and accepts submissions on a rolling basis. Learn more