Since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attacks, no state has unleashed nuclear weapons. What explains this? According to the author, the answer lies in a prohibition inherent in the tradition of non-use , a time-honored obligation that has been adhered to by all nuclear states – thanks to a consensus view that use would have a catastrophic impact on humankind, the environment, and the reputation of the user. The book offers an in-depth analysis of the nuclear policies of the U.S. , Russia , China , the UK , France , India , Israel , and Pakistan and assesses the contributions of these states to the rise and persistence of the tradition of nuclear non-use. It examines the influence of the tradition on the behavior of nuclear and non-nuclear states in crises and wars, and explores the tradition's implications for nuclear non-proliferation regimes, deterrence theory, and policy. And it concludes by discussing the future of the tradition in the current global security environment.

Bases of the tradition of non-use -- The United States and the tradition I : the Truman and Eisenhower years (1945-1961) -- The United States and the tradition II : Kennedy to Clinton (1961-2001) -- Russia, Britain, France, China and the tradition -- The second-generation nuclear states : Israel, India, Pakistan and the tradition -- Non-nuclear states, the tradition, and limited wars -- The tradition and the nonproliferation regime -- Changing U.S. policies and the tradition.