Reluctantly, America eyes building more nuclear weapons
The superpower faces more adversaries, new technologies and less-confident allies
![American flag umbrella with holes in it](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240817_LDD002_FH.jpg)
The nuclear de-escalation that followed the cold war is over, the Pentagon warned this month. In its place is a new rivalry among nuclear and almost-nuclear powers, some of them paranoid. It is more complex and less predictable than the old, bipolar contest between America and the Soviet Union. That makes it more dangerous.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “The new nuclear threat”
Leaders August 17th 2024
More from Leaders
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240914_LDP502.jpg)
Mario Draghi’s best ideas are those Europe finds least comfortable
The danger is that it picks the easy ones
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240907_LDD004.jpg)
The Labour government’s worrying lack of ambition in Europe
Sir Keir Starmer is trapped by the mindset of the post-Brexit years
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240907_LDP502.jpg)
A make-or-break moment for Mexico
In America’s biggest trading partner the rule of law and democracy are under attack
The real problem with China’s economy
The country risks making some of the mistakes the Soviet Union did
What to do about America’s killer cars
The country’s roads are nearly twice as dangerous as the rich-world average. It doesn’t have to be that way
How to deal with the hard-right threat in Germany
As extremists win more votes across Europe, forming moderate and effective governments is getting harder