Eric Mlyn is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"Mlyn has put together a new line of argument about the origins and evolution of U.S. nuclear weapons policy. Most of the literature on nuclear weapons has ignored the role of Congress and has assumed away the role of broader social forces. Mlyn's 'statist lens' therefore provides some valuable new insights." — Scott Sagan, Stanford University"A lucid, careful, and perceptive study of important questions about how Washington policymakers and forces in American society intersect and interact in the crucial area of nuclear weapons affairs. Mlyn throws light on a vital topic that is too little assessed: how and when nuclear policy is affected by the perceptions and intentions of American society." — Richard Smoke, Brown University

• Acknowledgments List of Acronyms 1. Introduction: An Overview of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy 2. U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy and Theory Development:The Dominance of Bureaucratic Politics 3. The State and U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy 4. The McNamara Years: The Shift to MAD? 5. Shifting Sands? 6. A Radical Departure? PD-59 and Forward 7. Conclusions: State, Society, and U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy Notes Bibliography Index

Eric Mlyn is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"Mlyn has put together a new line of argument about the origins and evolution of U.S. nuclear weapons policy. Most of the literature on nuclear weapons has ignored the role of Congress and has assumed away the role of broader social forces. Mlyn's 'statist lens' therefore provides some valuable new insights." — Scott Sagan, Stanford University"A lucid, careful, and perceptive study of important questions about how Washington policymakers and forces in American society intersect and interact in the crucial area of nuclear weapons affairs. Mlyn throws light on a vital topic that is too little assessed: how and when nuclear policy is affected by the perceptions and intentions of American society." — Richard Smoke, Brown University

• Acknowledgments List of Acronyms 1. Introduction: An Overview of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy 2. U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy and Theory Development:The Dominance of Bureaucratic Politics 3. The State and U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy 4. The McNamara Years: The Shift to MAD? 5. Shifting Sands? 6. A Radical Departure? PD-59 and Forward 7. Conclusions: State, Society, and U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy Notes Bibliography Index

Eric Mlyn is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"Mlyn has put together a new line of argument about the origins and evolution of U.S. nuclear weapons policy. Most of the literature on nuclear weapons has ignored the role of Congress and has assumed away the role of broader social forces. Mlyn's 'statist lens' therefore provides some valuable new insights." — Scott Sagan, Stanford University"A lucid, careful, and perceptive study of important questions about how Washington policymakers and forces in American society intersect and interact in the crucial area of nuclear weapons affairs. Mlyn throws light on a vital topic that is too little assessed: how and when nuclear policy is affected by the perceptions and intentions of American society." — Richard Smoke, Brown University

• Acknowledgments List of Acronyms 1. Introduction: An Overview of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy 2. U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy and Theory Development:The Dominance of Bureaucratic Politics 3. The State and U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy 4. The McNamara Years: The Shift to MAD? 5. Shifting Sands? 6. A Radical Departure? PD-59 and Forward 7. Conclusions: State, Society, and U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy Notes Bibliography Index