Threats and Promises Across the Nuclear Age: A Lecture in Memoriam of Professor Ed Haley
This lecture is in honor of Professor P. Edward (“Ed”) Haley (1939-2023) who passed away on June 30, 2023. Haley was the W. M. Keck Foundation Professor of International Strategic Studies. He arrived at CMC in 1968, served many years as chair of the IR program and in 1984 became the inaugural director of the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies. From 2008-2014 he served as the director of the Center for Human Rights Leadership (now the Mgrublian Center for Human Rights). A highly esteemed expert in U.S. foreign policy, U.S. policy in the Middle East, U.S.-European relations, and nuclear safety and arms control, Ed will be missed by generations of CMC faculty, staff, and students.
When leaders make nuclear threats, what are the implications for conflict and war? Why has Vladimir Putin issued nuclear threats in the context of the Russian war in Ukraine, and are those threats credible? In this talk, Lisa Koch will use past examples of threats and promises across the nuclear age as a foundation for thinking about how to interpret nuclear threats, and leaders’ responses to those threats.