Conventional war between nuclear powers

Is war between nuclear powers likely, and what would it look like? These are two important questions facing national security practitioners. A way to answer the questions is to examine the history of armed clashes between nuclear powers. No other article draws these clashes together under a single source. The history shows that armed clashes between nuclear powers have occurred repeatedly. They have been characterized by a low level of violence that sometimes ramped up to higher intensity. These trends offer one view of future war.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Strategic Studies
Published
2026-10-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2026.2717513
Primary Topic
Nuclear Issues and Defense
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Conventional war between nuclear powers

Carter Malkasian, Zachary Constantino
Journal of Strategic Studies
Nuclear Issues and Defense
article

Conventional war between nuclear powers

Carter Malkasian, Zachary Constantino
article en

Abstract

Is war between nuclear powers likely, and what would it look like? These are two important questions facing national security practitioners. A way to answer the questions is to examine the history of armed clashes between nuclear powers. No other article draws these clashes together under a single source. The history shows that armed clashes between nuclear powers have occurred repeatedly. They have been characterized by a low level of violence that sometimes ramped up to higher intensity. These trends offer one view of future war.

Journal of Strategic Studies
Indiana University Bloomington (US), National Defence College Nigeria (NG)
Peace, justice, and strong institutions
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Nuclear Issues and Defense
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