Atomic Anxiety Deterrence, Taboo and the Non-Use of U.S. Nuclear Weapons

“Atomic Anxiety is a groundbreaking work that rigorously takes to task long-standing explanations of nuclear non-use. The attention given to the importance of the collective fear of death en masse and the interplay of deterrence and the nuclear taboo make this a must-read for scholars of international relations and security studies.” (Paige P.

“Sauer … shed new light on a phenomenon (and on a country case) that has been explored already in detail and from different perspectives … . Regarding research design, Sauer skilfully navigates between utilizing, criticizing and enriching the state of the art, and betweenmethodological reflexivity and pragmatism. Regarding theory building, his micro-level focus on individuals, as well as on emotions and fear in particular, opens up new perspectives for research on international norms and for International Relations in general.” (Elvira Rosert, International Affairs, Vol. 92 (5), 2016)