NATO nuclear adaptation since 2014: the return of deterrence and renewed Alliance discomfort

Abstract

For most of the post-Cold War era, modernization for NATO has meant a reduced role for nuclear weapons and an enhanced role for crisis management policy and politico-diplomatic partnership. This NATO approach advanced cohesion among allies, some of which were politically uncomfortable with if not borderline opposed to nuclear deterrence. Allied comfort is now under siege, however. Russian military doctrine threatens the early use of nuclear weapons, and states such as Iran and North Korea expose fault lines in the nuclear arms control regime that in recent years has sought to further the full abolition of nuclear weapons. NATO finds itself challenged by the twin requirements of ensuring credible deterrence and meeting the concerns of Alliance members who thought reliance on nuclear weapons was a thing of the past.