Hegemony and Culture in the Origins of NATO Nuclear First-Use, 1945-1955

By Andrew Johnston and Andrew M. Johnston

Book Overview

Johnston argues that the preemptive first-use of nuclear weapons, long the foundation of American nuclear strategy, was not the carefully reasoned response to a growing Soviet conventional threat. Instead, it was part of a process of cultural 'socialization', by which the United States reconstituted the previously nationalist strategic cultures of the European allies into a seamless western community directed by Washington. Building a bridge between theory and practice, this book examines the usefulness of cultural theory in international history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 134953188X
• ISBN13: 9781349531882
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
• Length: 329 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"