Under the Nuclear Shadow: China’s Information-Age Weapons in International Security

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Fiona S. Cunningham

Under the Nuclear Shadow

China’s Information-Age Weapons in International Security

Fiona S. Cunningham

$180

Hardback

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English

Princeton University Press
16 April 2025

Political science & theory; Defence strategy, planning & research; Nuclear weapons

Series: Princeton Studies in International History and Politics

How and why China has pursued information-age weapons to gain leverage against its adversaries

How can states use military force to achieve their political aims without triggering a catastrophic nuclear war? Among the states facing this dilemma of fighting limited wars, only China has given information-age weapons such a prominent role. While other countries have preferred the traditional options of threatening to use nuclear weapons or fielding capabilities for decisive conventional military victories, China has instead chosen to rely on offensive cyber operations, counterspace capabilities, and precision conventional missiles to coerce its adversaries. In Under the Nuclear Shadow, Fiona Cunningham examines this distinctive aspect of China's postCold War deterrence strategy, developing an original theory of ""strategic substitution."" When crises with the United States highlighted the inadequacy of China's existing military capabilities, Cunningham argues, China pursued information-age weapons that promised to rapidly provide credible leverage against adversaries.

Drawing on hundreds of original Chinese-language sources and interviews with security experts in China, Cunningham provides a rare and candid glimpse from Beijing into the information-age technologies that are reshaping how states gain leverage in the twenty-first century. She offers unprecedented insights into the trajectory of China's military modernization, as she details the strengths and weaknesses of China's strategic substitution approach. Under the Nuclear Shadow also looks ahead at the uncertain future of China's strategic substitution approach and briefly explores too how other states might seize upon the promise of emerging technologies to address weaknesses in their own military strategies.

By: Fiona S. Cunningham
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780691261027
ISBN 10: 0691261024
Series: Princeton Studies in International History and Politics
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 16 April 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Fiona S. Cunningham is assistant professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania.