An Introduction to the 2020 U.S. Nuclear Employment Strategy
The 2020 U.S. Nuclear Employment Strategy is now publicly available for the first time and its publication is certain to raise questions about the similarities and differences to the 2013 U.S. Nuclear Employment Strategy. As the report's primary drafter, Mr. Costlow will discuss how the similarities reflect the broad bipartisan support for a number of policies and capabilities, as well as the traditional roles of nuclear weapons within U.S. defense strategy. Mr. Costlow will also note that the differences between the 2013 and 2020 Nuclear Employment Strategies are not the products of partisanship or ideology - rather, they are adaptations to the significantly different threat environment in which the report was written. Plus, given the apparent Chinese and Russian capabilities to conduct limited nuclear strikes on the United States and its allies, Mr. Costlow will address how the 2020 U.S. Nuclear Employment Strategy elaborates on the factors that influence a U.S. decision to deter, or if needed, employ nuclear weapons in such a situation.
Matthew R. Costlow is a Senior Analyst at the National Institute for Public Policy. His areas of expertise are in nuclear deterrence, missile defense policy, arms control, and Russian and Chinese nuclear doctrine. His work has been published by Comparative Strategy, Strategic Studies Quarterly, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Mr. Costlow has also published numerous opinion pieces in the Institute's Information Series as well as the Wall Street Journal, War on the Rocks, Defense News, and Defense One.
While working for the National Institute, Mr. Costlow graduated in 2012 from Missouri State University with an M.S. in Defense and Strategic Studies. His thesis, "Gunboat Diplomacy in the South China Sea" was chosen for publication at the U.S. Air Force Institute for National Security Studies. He is currently a PhD candidate in Political Science at George Mason University and is writing his dissertation on the factors that influence the credibility of WMD declaratory policy.
