Conventional Deterrence

{{short description|1983 book by John Mearsheimer}} {{Infobox book | name = Conventional Deterrence | image = | image_size = | border = | alt = | caption = | author = John Mearsheimer | orig_lang_code = en | illustrator = | cover_artist = | country = United States | language = English | subject = {{ubl| * Cold War * deterrence theory }} | genre = | publisher = Cornell University Press | pub_date = 31 August 1983 | media_type = | pages = 296 | isbn = 9780801415692 }} '''''Conventional Deterrence''''' is a 1983 book by the American political scientist John Mearsheimer. It is about deterrence theory and aims to explain how a party may or may not choose to initiate a war depending on its expected costs, with analyses of cases from World War II and the Arab–Israeli conflict, and implications for the Cold War in Central Europe. According to Mearsheimer, failures in modern warfare most of the time happen when a party erroneously thinks a rapid and low-cost ''Blitzkrieg'' is an available option.<ref name="Rasiulis1985">{{cite journal |last1=Rasiulis |first1=Andrew P. |title=Review: International Security: Conventional Deterrence |journal=International Journal: Canada's Journal of Global Policy Analysis |date=1985 |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=174-176 |doi=10.1177/002070208504000112}}</ref><ref name="Morgan1984">{{cite journal |last1=Morgan |first1=Patrick M. |title=Book Review: Conventional Deterrence |journal=Armed Forces & Society |date=1984 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=148-150 |doi=10.1177/0095327X8401100109}}</ref>

''Conventional Deterrence'' was published by Cornell University Press and was Mearsheimer's first book. Andrew P. Rasiulis called it well researched and refreshing in its emphasis on conventional forces in a time when many other analysts overestimate the role of nuclear weapons. Rasiulis wrote that Mearsheimer disappoints by not analyzing the relationship between conventional forces, nuclear weapons and political goals.<ref name="Rasiulis1985" /> Patrick M. Morgan wrote that Mearsheimer has "devised a seemingly useful theory" for estimating NATO's ability to deter possible attacks from the Soviet Union in Central Europe.<ref name="Morgan1984" />

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801415692/conventional-deterrence/ Cornell University Press]

Category:1983 non-fiction books Category:Books by John Mearsheimer Category:Cornell University Press books Category:Books about the Cold War Category:Books about international relations Category:Debut books