Problems of International Crisis Management in the Nuclear Age

When the topic to be discussed has to do with the dangers posed by international crisis and the threat of nuclear war, the very first thing we must talk about is the problem of hope. It is common knowledge that if we allow ourselves to adopt a hopeless outlook, we will not want to think or talk about the dangers of nuclear war at all, or listen to what anyone else has to say about these dangers. And those of us who do research and teaching will certainly not be willing to devote time and energy carrying out relevant research on conflict resolution or trying to educate others about the threat of nuclear war and about political actions that might be constructive ways to minimize it. My own conflict theory of decision making specifies that lack of hope is one of the major determinants of defensive avoidance–the tendency to avoid thinking about distressing issues that might require action.