Future's Back : Nuclear Rivalry, Deterrence Theory, and Crisis Stability after the Cold War

Arguing that previous critiques of rational choice and deterrence theory are not convincing, Frank Harvey constructs a new set of empirical tests of rational deterrence theory to illuminate patterns of interaction between rival nuclear powers. He analyses the crisis management techniques used by the United States and the Soviet Union in twenty-eight post-war crises and isolates factors that promote or inhibit escalation of these crises. This "e;crises"e;-based data set serves as the basis for identifying patterns of response when one nuclear state is threatened by another.