This course examines the theory and practice of nuclear strategy, with a particular focus on nuclear deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. While the end of the Cold War raised international hopes for the ultimate abolishment of nuclear weapons, the acquisition of nuclear weapons by India and Pakistan from 1998, followed by North Korea demonstrated their continuing attractiveness for at least some countries in the Indo-Pacific. As great power competition has intensified since 2014, the role of nuclear weapons in great power conflict has also experienced a resurgence, where many stratgic questions of the Cold War about deterrence credibility, strategic stability, the role of arms control pose themselves in a new form.

This course reviews the development and current state of nuclear weapons technology, and how nuclear weapons have enabled various deterrence and warfighting strategies during and after the Cold War. The United States, China, North Korea, Pakistan, and India are all discussed with a particular emphasis on the interplay and relationship between the political goals, available technology, and employment strategies, before the course concludes with a session on Australia's nuclear policy in past, present and future.

The course includes three 3-hour long debate sessions where the whole class will form teams to prepare and argue major questions of nuclear strategy.