The International Law of Armed Conflict

Implications for the Concept of Assured Destruction

Carl H. Builder, Morlie Hammer Levin

ResearchPublished 1982

Develops the implications of the international law of armed conflict for various applications of the concept of assured destruction to U.S. strategic nuclear arms planning. Chapter II describes the nature of the law of armed conflict in terms of its origins and scope. Chapter III then outlines the requirements of that law that are pertinent to strategic strike planning. Chapter IV takes up four general questions about the relevance of the law to the current concepts of modern nuclear warfare. Against this background of the law, Chap. V provides an analysis of the implications for four classes of strategic planning and planners. Chapter VI concludes with some philosophical speculations on the origins of the observed inconsistencies between the law of armed conflict and U.S. strategic nuclear planning and on means for resolving these inconsistencies.

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Builder, Carl H. and Morlie Hammer Levin, The International Law of Armed Conflict: Implications for the Concept of Assured Destruction. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1982. https://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R2804.html.
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