"Centering on the concept of 'Atomic Anxiety,' this study offers a novel perspective on one of the most important and longstanding puzzles of international politics: the non-use of U.S. nuclear weapons. It explains how emotion is at the heart of nuclear non-use, and explores the intricate interplay of the two most prominent mechanisms said to cause nuclear non-use in particular: nuclear deterrence and the nuclear taboo. Overturning conventional wisdom, Dr. Sauer demonstrates that nuclear deterrence and the nuclear taboo are working at cross purposes by asserting that the taboo is not stabilizing but hampering deterrence praxis. Additionally, this study identifies fear as the key precondition for both these mechanisms, a factor that has been overlooked and under-appreciated thus far."-- Provided by publisher.

Introduction: Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the Puzzling Non-use of U.S. Nuclear Weapons after 1945 -- Explaining Nuclear Non-use : Nuclear Deterrence, the Nuclear Taboo, the Tradition of Non-use and Identifying Causal Factors -- Understanding Nuclear Non-use : Focusing on Meaning, Language and Agency -- Revisiting Nuclear Non-use : The Cuban Missile Crisis, Presidential Language and the Study of Atomic Anxiety as a Key Emotion in International Politics -- Conclusion: The Danger of Complacency in Nuclear Policy-making.