Maintaining Effective Deterrence

While deterrence is as old as human conflict itself, it became particularly important with the advent of nuclear weapons when armed conflict between the superpowers had the potential to end civilization. Today, though, there is a sense that terrorism has rendered deterrence obsolete and forced the United States to substitute preemption for it. In this monograph, Dr. Colin Gray illustrates that strategic reality is not simple. Instead the two are inextricable. 'Preemption,' as Dr. Gray notes, 'needs all the assistance that it can garner from effective deterrence.' The United States 'has no practical choice other than to make of deterrence all that it can be, albeit in some seemingly unpromising conditions.' Dr. Gray provides both a conceptual framework for understanding deterrence-or, more accurately, the psychology of deterrence and policy guidance on how the United States can most effectively use it. He concludes that an adaptable and flexible military with robust landpower is the only tool that can maintain deterrence. The Strategic Studies Institute is pleased to offer this monograph as part of the ongoing debate on American national security strategy in the era of global terrorism.Army War Coll Strategic Studies Inst Carlisle Barracks PA is the author of 'Maintaining Effective Deterrence', published 2003 under ISBN 9781423547945 and ISBN 1423547942.