The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Project on Nuclear Issues has released a report, Project Atom 2023: A Competitive Strategies Approach for U.S. Nuclear Posture through 2035.
Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has demonstrated Putin’s willingness to rely on nuclear threats to pursue regional ambitions. China’s expanding and increasingly diverse nuclear arsenal suggests that it, too, has ambitions that may rely on nuclear threats. U.S. political and military leaders need to determine the nation’s strategy to deter and, if necessary (and possible), defeat two nuclear peers simultaneously or in sequence. In doing so, leadership must also consider the implications of this strategy for nuclear force posture, nuclear modernization, extended deterrence and assurance, and arms control and disarmament strategy and commitments.
To assist U.S. policy makers in addressing the question: “How can the United States deter two peer competitors?” the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues invited a group of experts to develop competing strategies for deterring Russia and China through 2035.