This book was written with senior United States government leadership and decision-makers in mind as a key audience. It is meant to help them analyze the best means of deterring future conflicts with state and non-state adversaries in the 21st century. The central focus is on actor-specific tailored deterrence that influences force postures, communications and actions based on contextual and scenario considerations. Any top government decision-makers who formulate policy and strategy to counter nuclear and other WMD threats should read it. In addition, this volume would be instructive to interested national security experts, military officers and informed citizens.

"May 2011"--T.p.

New thinking on deterrence / Barry Schneider and Patrick Ellis ; Part 1. Deterring state and non-state actors: case studies. Actor-specific behavioral models of adversaries: a key requirement for tailored deterrence / Jerrold Post -- Tailoring U.S. strategic deterrence effects on Russia / Franklin Miller -- Crisis deterrence in the Taiwan Strait / Douglas McCready -- Deterring a nuclear-armed Iran from adventurism and nuclear use / Gregory F. Giles -- Deterring North Korea from employment of WMD in future Korean conflicts and crises / Bruce Bennett -- Deterrence and Saddam Hussein: lessons from the 1990-1991 Gulf War / Barry Schneider -- Influencing terrorists' acquisition and use of weapons of mass destruction: exploring a possible strategy / Lewis Dunn ; Part II. Deterrence issues and challenges: a topical approach. U.S. extended deterrence: how much strategic force is too little? / David Trachtenberg -- Deterrence issues in a world of very few or zero nuclear weapons / Barry Blechman -- Deterrence, the triad, and possible dyads / Kurt Guthe -- The role of strategic communications in deterrence: lesson from history / Richard Estes -- A nation's resilience as a deterrence factor / Patrick D. Ellis -- Summary and conclusions / Barry Schneider and Patrick Ellis.