In this timely and ambitious work, Thomas Doyle combines his twin interests in ethics and nuclear deterrence to good effect. His point of departure is the cold war legacy of “persistent stalemate” between proponents and opponents of nuclear deterrence. Doyle makes a strong case for a new nuclear ethics better aligned with current circumstances, one based on the 1980s concept of “common security.” His assertion that stalemate can give way to consensus on this new basis serves as a useful provocation to the needed moral and political debate.

Brad Roberts, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense forNuclear and Missile Defense Policy, 2009-2013

This ambitious and creative book is needed now more than ever. Doyle’s riveting development of a nuclear ethics for our time provides a nuanced, interdisciplinary, philosophically-influenced but also pragmatically-grounded achievement for working through one of the most terrifying existential risks of contemporary global politics. This text is essential for courses on international ethics, International Relations, philosophy, and international security.

Brent J. Steele, Professor and Francis D. Wormuth Presidential Chair, University of Utah

As the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists have moved the Doomsday Clock once again close to midnight, Professor Thomas Doyle reexamines the moral questions arising from nuclear weapons. Nuclear Ethics in the Twenty-First Century moves us beyond both the lingering logics of the Cold War, and the shopworn moral philosophies that have guided ethical reflection on the questions concerning the use of nuclear weapons. Taking a cue from the idea of common security, the book offers a new and compelling basis to justify demands for nuclear disarmament in the face of superpower intransigence.

Harry Gould, Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations, Florida International University

Thomas E. Doyle’s Nuclear ethics in the twenty-first century is a timely reminder of the existential threat of nuclear war. It makes a compelling case for rethinking nuclear ethics in International Relations through the framework of common security (‘security with’, rather than ‘security against’: p. 68).

International Affairs