Nuclear weapons grew cheaper as they proliferated, undermining deterrence

Evidence

Early in the Cold War weapons of mass destruction met this requirement. They were prohibitively expensive, and only the richest two superpowers had nukes. But as the race progressed, warheads got cheaper. The cost of conventional weapons—submarines, fighters, and carriers, for example—soared, but the nuclear warheads themselves got smaller and cheaper. Pretty soon, England and France were testing nuclear warheads, then China and South Africa. By the 1970s India had successfully tested nuclear warheads, too, and by the 1990s so had Pakistan. Now, Israel and North Korea have them as well. The most important precondition for deterrence is disappearing. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 602

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels weapon democratization via cheap firearms and IEDs in asymmetric warfare literature. — connects to: Cheapening nuclear weapons is eroding the precondition for deterrence; The Cold War outcome does not prove deterrence worked — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 1042; Cold War arsenals grew to planetary overkill capacity — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 569 (+3 more)

Related

• Cheapening nuclear weapons is eroding the precondition for deterrence (similarity 0.96)
• Low-cost bioweapons manufacture destroys the logic of deterrence (similarity 0.85)
• Proliferating nuclear weapons increase the risk of accidental world-ending war (similarity 0.82)
• Cold War weapons costs multiplied simultaneously across every system category (similarity 0.81)
• Costly advanced weapons deter rivals just like large animal weapons (similarity 0.81)
• The most expensive weapons serve as deterrents by projecting power globally. (similarity 0.80)
• Cold War arsenals grew to planetary overkill capacity (similarity 0.79)
• Biological weapons can now be assembled for a few thousand dollars (similarity 0.79)
• Nuclear weapons make war as an instrument of policy obsolete (similarity 0.79)
• The Cold War outcome does not prove deterrence worked (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Low-cost bioweapons manufacture destroys the logic of deterrence #corroborates (0.65)
• Proliferating nuclear weapons increase the risk of accidental world-ending war #expands (0.60) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 610