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On the Brink: Trump, Kim, and the Threat of Nuclear War
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. Jackson analyzes the US response to North Korea's increasing nuclear threat in the context of Trump's aggressive rhetoric, prior US policy failures, the geopolitics of East Asia, North Korean strategic culture and the acceleration of its nuclear program. Jackson argues that the Trump administration's policy of 'maximum pressure' brought the world much closer to inadvertent nuclear war than many realize - and charts a course for the prevention of future conflicts.
- GenresNonfictionPolitics
248 pages, Hardcover
First published November 29, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 11, 2019
Great first-draft of history here. For students of crisis-management and of US foreign policy, this is a must read. Jackson makes a compelling case that US-DPRK relations throughout 2017 amounted to the closest that the world has come to a nuclear exchange since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. A beautiful cover, and typeset coupled with great, crisp, and clear writing and argumentation makes for a good read. Also follow Van Jackson on Twitter (@WonkVJ) for great insights on Asia-Pacific affairs.
June 2, 2019
An engaging assessment that mixes strategic theory and a close re-telling of the 2016-17 nuclear crisis between the United States and North Korea.
Jackson argues the crisis (which featured Trump's infamous 'Fire and Fury' line) was much more serious than many realised at the time. He also shows there is little evidence that the US strategy of 'Maximum Pressure' against North Korea was effective. That approach, which hardened under Trump has a long history and builds from core and hard-to-dislodge US assumptions about the advantages of power and primacy. As many scholars have shown over the years, from Coral Bell's 'Negotiation from Strength' in the 1960s, to Phil Haun's 'Coercion' in 2015, there are many reasons to doubt this simplistic approach.
By diving in depth for a single case, Jackson usefully shows how such views, especially in their crude and thus easily apparent fashion of the current administration plays out in practice, and the very real risks it can bring. All too often, this policy falls short because of a failure to take any notice of how the adversary thinks or is likely to respond. On the Brink addresses that issue directly and the second chapter on North Korea's 'Theory of victory' (how it attempts to get what it wants in the world) is a very useful resource for those wanting to understand how the hermit kingdom thinks about war, peace and strategy.
One of the defining traits of strategic studies scholarship is the effort to wear two hats. One of scholarship (which may range from pure theory to detailed empirical work) and another of contemporary policy analysis that - hopefully - draws on the former. On the Brink neatly meets that goal, and helps establish the author in the upper tier of current strategic scholars.
Recommended.
Jackson argues the crisis (which featured Trump's infamous 'Fire and Fury' line) was much more serious than many realised at the time. He also shows there is little evidence that the US strategy of 'Maximum Pressure' against North Korea was effective. That approach, which hardened under Trump has a long history and builds from core and hard-to-dislodge US assumptions about the advantages of power and primacy. As many scholars have shown over the years, from Coral Bell's 'Negotiation from Strength' in the 1960s, to Phil Haun's 'Coercion' in 2015, there are many reasons to doubt this simplistic approach.
By diving in depth for a single case, Jackson usefully shows how such views, especially in their crude and thus easily apparent fashion of the current administration plays out in practice, and the very real risks it can bring. All too often, this policy falls short because of a failure to take any notice of how the adversary thinks or is likely to respond. On the Brink addresses that issue directly and the second chapter on North Korea's 'Theory of victory' (how it attempts to get what it wants in the world) is a very useful resource for those wanting to understand how the hermit kingdom thinks about war, peace and strategy.
One of the defining traits of strategic studies scholarship is the effort to wear two hats. One of scholarship (which may range from pure theory to detailed empirical work) and another of contemporary policy analysis that - hopefully - draws on the former. On the Brink neatly meets that goal, and helps establish the author in the upper tier of current strategic scholars.
Recommended.
December 21, 2018
Would've liked more of an explanation for Obama's indecision, but one day this will be a vitally important document of the period we lived through.
October 6, 2019
A nice recap of recent US-North Korea nuclear diplomacy, how Trump has changed that dynamic, and where things may be headed.
October 28, 2019
Succinct, contemporary treatment of the many events occurring in and around the latest nuclear crisis.
Read
February 24, 2020Audible Audiobook
October 25, 2024
Good amount of detail. Over confident and biased tone throughout the book that prevent it from providing good historical value.
December 30, 2020
a briskly paced yet intelligent account that leaves one feeling less sanguine about the looming threat of inadvertent nuclear war on the Korean penninsula.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews