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The Dilemma of NATO Strategy, 1949-1968

Davis, Robert Thomas, II
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1213197004

Abstract Details

2008, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, History (Arts and Sciences).
This study is a reappraisal of the strategic dilemma of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the Cold War. This dilemma revolves around the problem of articulating a strategic concept for a military alliance in the nuclear era. NATO was born of a perceived need to defend Western Europe from a Soviet onslaught. It was an imperative of the early alliance to develop a military strategy and force posture to defend Western Europe should such a war break out. It was not long after the first iteration of strategy took shape than the imperative for a military defense of Europe receded under the looming threat of thermonuclear war. The advent of thermonuclear arsenals in both the United States and Soviet Union brought with it the potential destruction of civilization should war break out. This realization made statesmen on both sides of the Iron Curtain undergo what has been referred to as an ongoing process of nuclear learning. This led to deterrence, rather than defense, being the priority for both the NATO allies and the Soviet-dominated Warsaw Pact. But fundamental tensions remained, and a need for military strategies seemed to remain. The problem was to then gauge how important conventional forces, tactical nuclear weapons, and strategic nuclear forces were to determine force postures that provided the most effective combination of deterrence and defense.
Peter John Brobst, PhD (Committee Chair)
Norman Goda, PhD (Committee Member)
Steven Miner, PhD (Committee Member)
Harold Molineu, PhD (Committee Member)
Chester Pach, PhD (Committee Member)
421 p.
European History
NATO; Strategy; Cold War; Nuclear; Military Planning

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Davis, II, R. T. (2008). The Dilemma of NATO Strategy, 1949-1968 [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1213197004

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Davis, II, Robert. The Dilemma of NATO Strategy, 1949-1968. 2008. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1213197004.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Davis, II, Robert. "The Dilemma of NATO Strategy, 1949-1968." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1213197004

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1213197004
11,043
© 2008, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.