
Jul 22, 20264 min
The Grammar of Deterrence: Nuclear Signalling in a Multipolar Age
Deterrence is a language, and it was built for two speakers. A world of several nuclear powers strains its grammar to the breaking point.
Every dispatch filed under NATO.

Deterrence is a language, and it was built for two speakers. A world of several nuclear powers strains its grammar to the breaking point.

Europe wants the capacity to act alone and the reassurance of never having to. Reconciling the two is the defining project of the decade.

Adding members is the easy part. The next decade will test whether the alliance can convert breadth into cohesion, and cohesion into credible deterrence.