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On the Brink

Trump, Kim, and the Threat of Nuclear War

Van Jackson (Victoria University of Wellington)

$34.95

Hardback

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English
Cambridge University Press
29 November 2018
In 2017, the world watched as President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traded personal insults and escalating threats of nuclear war amid unprecedented shows of military force. Former Pentagon insider and Korean security expert Van Jackson traces the origins of the first American nuclear crisis in the post-Cold War era, and explains the fragile, highly unpredictable way that it ended. Grounded in security studies and informed analysis of the US response to North Korea's increasing nuclear threat, Trump's aggressive rhetoric is analysed in the context of prior US policy failures, the geopolitics of East Asia, North Korean strategic culture and the acceleration of its nuclear programme. Jackson argues that the Trump administration's policy of 'maximum pressure' brought the world much closer to inadvertent nuclear war than many realise - and charts a course for the prevention of future conflicts.
By:  
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 235mm,  Width: 156mm,  Spine: 18mm
Weight:   490g
ISBN:   9781108473484
ISBN 10:   1108473482
Pages:   248
Publication Date:  
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Van Jackson is a Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington, and the Defence and Strategy Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies. He served in the Obama administration as a policy adviser and strategist in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, participating in nuclear negotiations with North Korea and formulating deterrence policies with South Korea.

Reviews for On the Brink: Trump, Kim, and the Threat of Nuclear War

Advance praise: 'Van Jackson has written an insightful, detailed, and frightening history of the Korean nuclear crisis. It is like a thriller with the sequel yet to be written. Readers will understand both how deeply dangerous the past few years have been and how many nuclear dangers remain lurking just over the horizon.' Scott D. Sagan, author of The Limits of Safety Advance praise: 'On the Brink is a smart, readable explanation of the nuclear crisis of 2017 - one that explains how Washington and Pyongyang found themselves on a collision course and one that offers sage advice about managing the risk of nuclear war in the future.' Jeffrey Lewis, author of The 2020 Commission Report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks against the United States: A Speculative Novel Advance praise: 'On the Brink is a timely, serious, and substantive treatment of a perennial national security problem for the United States. Jackson successfully weaves theory, history, and policy into a book that makes every reader smarter on North Korea. Recommended reading not just for experts, but for general audiences.' Victor Cha, D. S. Song-KF Professor at Georgetown University, Washington DC, and former National Security Council director for Japan, Korea, Australia, and Pacific Island affairs Advance praise: 'With a deep sense of history, Van Jackson has given us a vital record of a near-disaster. Vigorous, wise, and highly informed, On the Brink decodes the theatrics and leaves the lessons inescapably clear for future generations.' Evan Osnos, author of The Age of Ambition Advance praise: 'A history that's as illuminating for the policymaker as it is for the informed citizen. If you want to know how close the world came to nuclear war in 2017 - and how to avoid it in the future - this is a must-read.' James Stavridis, Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Massachusetts and Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Advance praise: 'Van Jackson provides an excellent scholar-practitioner's guide to the history of US-North Korean misunderstanding and mutual hostility. He provides a clarion call regarding the scope and magnitude of the danger that surrounded the Trump administration's efforts to grapple for the first time with vulnerability to North Korean nuclear capabilities.' Scott Snyder, author of South Korea at the Crossroads Advance praise: 'A terrific and terrifying story of bumbling into a nuclear crisis because of unrealistic goals and a failure to understand North Korea. Van Jackson, a fine scholar of Korean affairs, has written a remarkable history that anyone wishing to avoid nuclear war - or make sense of North Korea - should read.' Robert Edwin Kelly, Pusan National University, South Korea


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