Nuclear Hotlines

Résumé du livre

Hotlines can serve as essential firebreaks between accident, miscalculation, miscommunication, and the outbreak of nuclear war. They enable timely, direct, and confidential communication between adversaries so that states can avoid conflict and de-escalate crises. This paper gives an overview of experiences to-date with nuclear hotlines. It reviews the history of the US-Russia hotline, describes the ways that hotlines can be used or misused, and charts how the hotline concept has evolved and propagated to help states manage international crises. The paper shows hotlines as important, if imperfect, tools for avoiding nuclear conflict.