Talking Strategy6 Des 2022

S2E8: Thinking the Unthinkable: The Nuclear Strategy of Herman Kahn with Dr Sharon Ghamari-Tabrizi

Dr Sharon Ghamari-Tabrizi joins Beatrice and Paul to discuss prominent futurist and founder of the Hudson Institute Herman Kahn.

Herman Kahn (1922–1983) came across to some as a 'roly poly, second-strike Father Christmas', but to most of his contemporaries in the US, his style and way of talking about nuclear strategy seemed deeply immoral.

Arguably, however, his intention was to think through what nuclear war would look like and to plan for the days and months after a strategic nuclear bombing. It was by thinking through these scenarios, he reasoned, that there may be the potential to save tens of millions of lives, even if tens of millions would die. By developing such resilience, therefore, Kahn's intention was to make deterrence more credible.

Shocking journalists and the public with his loose language, Kahn was a product of the RAND Corporation's emphasis on number-crunching to envisage different scenarios for future wars. Kahn famously developed scenarios involving an escalation ladder for nuclear war on which the nuclear powers might move up or down, potentially but not necessarily to a final nuclear 'wargasm' – an example of language that alienated the larger public. Yet he took a great interest in converting existing facilities – mines in particular – into bunkers to protect as many members of that public as possible.

Dr Sharon Ghamari-Tabrizi holds a PhD from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her biography The Worlds of Herman Kahn was published by Harvard University Press in 2005.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(101)

S6E22: Delivering National Security Strategies

Former UN Ambassador and National Security Advisor Sir Mark Lyall Grant discusses the challenges facing delivery of Western security strategies. In this season of Talking Strategy we have explored man...

14 Jul 38min

S6E21: Dr Jack Watling on Ukrainian Adaptation to War

In our 100th episode, we talk to RUSI senior research fellow Dr Jack Watling about the transformation in Ukraine in response to Russia's War. Against what many considered a materially superior adversa...

30 Jun 33min

S6E20: Preparing for War: Adaptable Forces and Societies

Professor Olivier Schmitt describes the systemic challenges of military transformation, given rapidly evolving technology and NATO's distinct strategic cultures. Modern defence and security reviews hi...

16 Jun 36min

S6E19: Adversarial Strategy: Russia's Preparations for a Long War

We look at how Russia's armed forces are learning lessons from combat and examine Moscow's ambitions in its war against Ukraine. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine is part of a long-term, much larger ...

2 Jun 32min

S6E18: Bullion to Bullets: Mobilising the Financial Markets

The Centre for Economic Security's Dr Rebecca Harding argues for the importance of financial markets as the fourth pillar in supporting effective mobilisation. Conversations about industrial mobilisat...

19 Mai 35min

S6E17: Industrial Mobilisation: Harnessing the Capacity of Defence Primes Andrea Thompson

Despite an increasing focus on SMEs, effective industrial mobilisation must also better harness the power of traditional defence firms. Andrea Thompson from BAE Systems explains how. The excitement in...

5 Mai 36min

S6E16: Harnessing Disruptors in the Defence Industrial Ecosystem: Anduril Industries

The preparedness of Western armed forces for conflict is something that has featured prominently in many defence reviews. Christian Brose, Anduril's President & Chief Strategy Officer, describes how g...

21 Apr 41min

S6E15: Integrating Today's Forces for Air and Missile Defence

Rear Admiral Archer M Macy Jr describes today's military, organisational, human and cultural risks and opportunities in integrating forces for air and missile defence. Many modern defence reviews focu...

8 Apr 33min