ThinkTankWeekly

America Doesn’t Need More Nuclear Weapons

Foreign Affairs | 2026-08-26 | china_indopacific

Topics: China, Europe, Indo-Pacific, Middle East, Nuclear, Russia, Taiwan, Ukraine, United States

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English Summary

The analysis argues that the U.S. should refrain from expanding or diversifying its nuclear arsenal, asserting that such a buildup risks triggering an unstable arms race and increasing the danger of miscalculation. Instead, effective deterrence requires focusing on modernizing existing strategic forces—which are already behind schedule—and significantly strengthening conventional military capabilities. To counter rising threats from China and Russia, Washington must prioritize developing advanced non-nuclear options to make conflict too costly for rivals to initiate.

中文摘要

該分析認為,美國應避免擴大或分散其核武庫存,主張此類軍備累積有引發不穩定軍備競賽並增加誤判風險的危險。相反地,有效的威懾力需要專注於現代化現有的戰略力量(這些力量本身已落後),並顯著強化傳統軍事能力。為應對來自中國和俄羅斯日益增長的威脅,華盛頓必須優先發展先進的非核選項,使競爭對手認為發起衝突成本過高。

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