Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-2019
Abstract
There is no more consequential decision for a president than ordering a nuclear strike. In the Cold War, the threat of sudden nuclear annihilation necessitated procedures emphasizing speed and efficiency and placing sole decision-making authority in the president’s hands. In today’s changed threat environment, the legal authorities and process a U.S. president would confront when making this grave decision merit reexamination. This paper serves as a resource in the national discussion about a president’s legal authority and the procedures for ordering a nuclear strike, and whether to update them.
Publication Citation
Nuclear Threat Initiative Paper, Dec. 2019.
Scholarly Commons Citation
DeRosa, Mary B. and Nicolas, Ashley, "The President and Nuclear Weapons: Authorities, Limits, and Process" (2019). Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works. 2219.
https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/2219
Included in
Constitutional Law Commons, National Security Law Commons, President/Executive Department Commons