ESCALATION DYNAMICS UNDER THE NUCLEAR SHADOW—INDIA’S APPROACH

RAKESH SOOD FEBRUARY 10, 2026s I.  INTRODUCTION Rakesh Sood concludes that “While nuclear weapons will induce restraint and neither country is likely to engage in an all-out war to change the territorial status quo, the likelihood of cross-border terrorist attacks followed by kinetic retaliation and consequent escalation cannot be ruled out…Since the doctrines and the […]

AFTER NEW START: THE B-52 STRATEGIC BOMBER AND THE COLLAPSE OF TREATY CONSTRAINTS

VINCE SCAPPATURA AND RICHARD TANTER JANUARY 30 2026 I. INTRODUCTION Vince Scappatura and Richard Tanter argue that the imminent expiration of the New START treaty on 6 February of this year marks not simply the end of a treaty, but the collapse of a wider decades-long framework constraining the nuclear arms race between the United […]

HOW TO ASSESS NUCLEAR ‘THREATS’ IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

GEORGE PERKOVICH JANUARY 20 2026 I.  INTRODUCTION George Perkovich argues that ‘nuclear threat’ needs to be defined with more care and nuance to enable decision makers to distinguish serious nuclear threats that demand a countervailing action from nuclear threats that are mere noise or allusion aiming to manipulate nuclear anxiety but do not pose a […]

B-52S IN AUSTRALIA IN 1979-1991 AND THE NUCLEAR HETERODOXY OF MALCOLM FRASER

VINCE SCAPPATURA AND RICHARD TANTER AUGUST 4, 2025 I.  INTRODUCTION Vince Scappatura and Richard Tanter use previously unreported declassified CINCPAC Command Histories and Australian cabinet papers to examine the decisions by the Australian government under Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser in the early 1980s to allow the deployment of USAF B-52 Stratofortress bombers. The authors situate both Australian […]

WHERE WOULD WE BE WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS WITHOUT INTERNATIONAL LAW?

WILLIAM BOOTHBY AND WOLFF HEINTSCHEL VON HEINEGG MAY 26 2025 I.  INTRODUCTION In this essay, William Boothby and Wolff Heintschel von Heinegg explain that The Law on Nuclear Weapons: An International Commentary (Elgar, 2025) aims “to ensure that all those involved in nuclear weapon operations understand what their responsibilities are under international law. By this […]

TO DRIVE FORWARD AT HIGH SPEED LOOK BACKWARDS

PETER HAYES AND LEON SIGAL JANUARY 18 2025 I.  INTRODUCTION In this essay, Peter Hayes and Leon Sigal argue that historical insight is essential to understanding the current political turmoil in the ROK and its implications for the incoming Trump Administration’s policies towards the DPRK.  It also marks the posting of the latest searchable DPRK […]

B-2 BOMBER STRIKES IN YEMEN AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE FOR AUSTRALIA

NOVEMBER 10 2024 VINCE SCAPPATURA I.  INTRODUCTION Vince Scappatura documents the novel use of Australian territory in supporting US B-2 bombers en route and in return from strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on October 17, and highlights the profound strategic significance of this event for the future role Australia may play in US strategic […]

NUCLEAR-CAPABLE B-52H STRATOFORTRESS BOMBERS: A VISUAL GUIDE TO IDENTIFICATION

VINCE SCAPPATURA AND RICHARD TANTER AUGUST 26 2024   I.  INTRODUCTION Vince Scappatura and Richard Tanter use open-source information to identify US B-52 bombers that are nuclear weapons capable and may visit or be stationed at foreign airfields versus B-52s that are solely able to be armed with conventional, non-nuclear weapons. Where governments, as in […]