At the Brink of Nuclear War: Feasibility of Retaliation and the U.S. Policy Decisions During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis

Recent studies in nuclear deterrence show that punishment is infeasible most cases due to the opponent’s second-strike capability, tactical redundancy, and logic of self-deterrence. However, if challenge against expected go unpunished, deterrent policy not credible will likely fail. Can defender violently punish challenger possessing weapons? If it can, under what conditions? Thanks President Kennedy’s tape recordings, Cuban Missile Crisis provides researchers an exceptional laboratory for testing various theories on defender’s choices after failure. This article derives a research hypothesis its competing counterpart examines their respective explanatory power via process-tracing analysis key members within Executive Committee during crisis. The study finds challenger’s feasibility retaliating with atomic weapons crucial predictor choices.