The Arms Race and Nuclear Strategy. Although there were interesting elements I did find it a slog to work through this module. There is no doubt that Nuclear weapons played a very significant role in ensuring peace between East and West across Europe who have benifited from 40 years of peace through deterrence.

The different policies that evolved of first strike capability, an assured nuclear response, MAD are worthy of study, however the sheer scale of the resources that USA, Russia, China, UK and France have put into nuclear weopns is staggering, especially when you consider all of the training, maning, submarines, aircraft, fule used etc..... And we are left with a residual legacy and with other "third world" nations seeking and gaining entry into the nuclear club (India and pakistan) while Iran is being threatened with sanctions for attempting the same thing.

If anything the Arms Race led to a constant paranoia between USA and USSR which was a major handicap in the proces of detente. The development of global strategy which could have destroied the World is an un-real development, but I remember military training exercises in the early 1980s where there would be simulated tactical nuclear weapons being used.