ABSTRACT
The parameters of the nuclear age—the diffusion of nuclear weapons and the parity of superpower holdings—have altered the proprieties of national strategy and the political economy of alliance, and thus the shape and dynamics of the international system. The achievement of elemental safety for a nation, particularly a present alliance guarantor, may require a renunciation of its function of extended deterrence. Military alliance is an act that cuts two ways: In the obvious sense, alliance fosters political trust and social community. Future hypothetical events affect present military dispositions, the nerve of contestants in crises, the course of diplomacy within the alliance, and the coherence of the Atlantic strategic community. Nuclear technology permitted extended deterrence in the first place and thus constituted the cement of alliance. But once the technology is diffused, beyond the monopoly of one nation, it prohibits extended deterrence and so becomes the solvent of alliance.
