Atomic Assurance: The Alliance Politics of Nuclear Proliferation

This admirably succinct monograph makes a useful contribution to our understanding of certain policy tools the United States and the Soviet Union adopted to try to curb the spread of nuclear weapons. Nonproliferation efforts have been based in part on international institutions such as the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Analysts of a realist bent, however, have long been skeptical that such endeavors can effectively prevent proliferation. Realists view security concerns as the driving force behind nuclear weapons programs, and they argue that the only way to stop proliferation is to provide states with security guarantees that obviate their need to acquire nuclear arms. The United States, with its network of defense treaties, has been the primary source of such security guarantees, particularly through efforts to extend nuclear deterrence—or a “nuclear umbrella”—over its allies. If the assurances provided by an alliance with the United States do not do the job, then Washington...