January 12, 2016

Russia's Evolving Nuclear Doctrine and its Implications

By Elbridge Colby

In this report, Robert M. Gates Senior Fellow Elbridge Colby provides a baseline of Russian thinking on how Moscow sees its options for nuclear employment. Mr. Colby argues that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should not be "caught unaware by Russian emphasis on, let alone resort to, employing its nuclear weapons in the event of a conflict with NATO.

Authors

  • Elbridge Colby

    Director, Defense Program

    Elbridge Colby is the Director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security, where he leads CNAS’ work on defense issues. Previously, Colby served as the D...

  • Commentary
    • Foreign Affairs
    • October 15, 2018
    If You Want Peace, Prepare for Nuclear War

    In a little under three decades, nuclear weapons have gone from center stage to a sideshow in U.S. defense strategy. Since the 1990s, the United States has drastically reduced...

    By Elbridge Colby

    • Commentary
    • March 29, 2016
    Trump's nuclear views are terrifying: Column

    The contours of Donald Trump’s foreign policy are becoming disturbingly clear. Newspapers have labeled his thinking on international affairs "isolationist” and “unabashedly no...

    By Mira Rapp-Hooper

    • Congressional Testimony
    • November 3, 2015
    Elbridge Colby before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces

    Elbridge Colby testified before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces on adapting U.S. nuclear strategy and posture to a more contested and competitive wor...

    By Elbridge Colby

    • Reports
    • October 28, 2015
    A Nuclear Strategy and Posture for 2030

    Robert M. Gates Senior Fellow Elbridge Colby offers the outlines of a revised nuclear policy and posture that adapts the United States' long-standing approach to nuclear weapo...

    By Elbridge Colby

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