--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is deterrence that has prevented the…" description: "\"It is deterrence that has prevented the use of nuclear weapons by all states that possess them since 1945.\" — Tom Malinowski" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/tom-malinowski-5887_nuclear_it-is-deterrence-that-has-prevented-the_2227132.jpg" --- # It is deterrence that has prevented the use of nuclear… ![“It is deterrence that has prevented the use of nuclear weapons by all states that possess them since 1945.” quote by Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/tom-malinowski-5887_nuclear_it-is-deterrence-that-has-prevented-the_2227132.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/tom-malinowski-5887_nuclear_it-is-deterrence-that-has-prevented-the_2227132.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/tom-malinowski-5887_nuclear_it-is-deterrence-that-has-prevented-the_2227132.jpg) > “It is deterrence that has prevented the use of nuclear weapons by all states that possess them since 1945.” [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Deterrence has stopped nuclear powers from using weapons since 1945. **In simple terms:** Deterrence prevented nuclear war. Key Takeaway Maintain credible deterrence. Themes security policy peace deterrence nuclear weapons Mood cautious analytical Type political strategic When to use this quote - International diplomacy - defense planning - non‑proliferation - crisis management Key Concepts Mutually assured destruction strategic stability Questions to Reflect On - How can deterrence adapt to emerging technologies? - What risks arise if deterrence credibility declines? A Different Perspective Deterrence may fail if credibility erodes or new actors emerge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deterrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deterrence/) [Deterrence Prevented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deterrence-prevented-4994919/) [Nuclear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear/) [Nuclear weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-weapons/) [Them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/them/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Use Nuclear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use-nuclear-750653/) [Weapons States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons-states-4885935/) ## Related quotes > [It is time for the rest of the world to join ... in demanding that ALL the nuclear weapons states -including Israel, India and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/it-is-time-for-the-rest-of-the-world-to-join-in-demanding-that-all/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [If in the words which the Secretary of State has just used, the use of a nuclear weapon is to be avoided 'at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enoch-powell/if-in-the-words-which-the-secretary-of-state-has-just-used-the-use-of/) [Enoch Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enoch-powell/) > [It would be our policy to use nuclear weapons wherever we felt it necessary to protect our forces and achieve our objectives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mcnamara/it-would-be-our-policy-to-use-nuclear-weapons-wherever-we-felt-it/) [Robert McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mcnamara/) > [What is the only provocation that could bring about the use of nuclear weapons? Nuclear weapons. What is the priority target for nuclear weapons?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/what-is-the-only-provocation-that-could-bring-about-the-use-of/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Presidents should be very careful at all times in discussing the use or non-use of nuclear weapons. Presidents since the cold war have used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/presidents-should-be-very-careful-at-all-times-in-discussing-the-use/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [“The driver of deterrence success is not nuclear weapons, it is nuclear posture. Nuclear weapons may deter, but they deter unequally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vipin-narang/the-driver-of-deterrence-success-is-not-nuclear-weapons-it-is-nuclear/) [Vipin Narang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vipin-narang/) > [That's a point that Dan Ellsberg has made for years. 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We will not turn a blind eye to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lange/our-nuclear-free-status-means-that-we-decline-to-acquiesce-in-the/) [David Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lange/) > [New Zealand's nuclear free movement is a broad-based and popular movement. Our nuclear free status is a challenge to much that is accepted as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lange/new-zealand-s-nuclear-free-movement-is-a-broad-based-and-popular/) [David Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lange/) > [Iran doesn't need one centrifuge. Canada has nuclear energy. Spain has nuclear energy. Switzerland has nuclear energy, and they don't enrich uranium. You don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naftali-bennett/iran-doesn-t-need-one-centrifuge-canada-has-nuclear-energy-spain-has/) [Naftali Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naftali-bennett/) > [“There’s no record in the history of the Galaxy of any society being so foolish as to use nuclear explosions as a weapon of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/there-s-no-record-in-the-history-of-the-galaxy-of-any-society-being/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [We have every interest in seeing that the military use of nuclear power will be contained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joschka-fischer/we-have-every-interest-in-seeing-that-the-military-use-of-nuclear/) [Joschka Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joschka-fischer/) ## More by Tom Malinowski > [Ever since the end of the Cold War, it has been our paramount interest in Europe to strengthen NATO and to extend it -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/ever-since-the-end-of-the-cold-war-it-has-been-our-paramount-interest/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [Arresting opposition leaders and restricting civil society will not stop people from protesting, but it can create leaderless movements that leave no one with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/arresting-opposition-leaders-and-restricting-civil-society-will-not/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [Let's face it: much of what we truly value in life is rooted in our experience of repression and conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/let-s-face-it-much-of-what-we-truly-value-in-life-is-rooted-in-our/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [Kim Jong Un, like all totalitarian leaders, wants above all to ensure his survival. 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It is about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-robert-kehler/deterrence-is-still-fundamentally-about-influencing-an-actor-s/) [C. Robert Kehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-robert-kehler/) > [New Zealand's nuclear free movement is a broad-based and popular movement. Our nuclear free status is a challenge to much that is accepted as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lange/new-zealand-s-nuclear-free-movement-is-a-broad-based-and-popular/) [David Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lange/) > [“The driver of deterrence success is not nuclear weapons, it is nuclear posture. Nuclear weapons may deter, but they deter unequally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vipin-narang/the-driver-of-deterrence-success-is-not-nuclear-weapons-it-is-nuclear/) [Vipin Narang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vipin-narang/) > [We defended our allies in Europe for 40 years during the worst days of the Cold War - very threatening days of the Cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/we-defended-our-allies-in-europe-for-40-years-during-the-worst-days/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [Japan's alliance with the U.S. will only grow in importance amid the increasingly difficult security situation surrounding our country, thus I think it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoshihiko-noda/japan-s-alliance-with-the-u-s-will-only-grow-in-importance-amid-the/) [Yoshihiko Noda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoshihiko-noda/) > [Nuclear deterrence doesn't work outside of the Russian - U.S. context; Saddam Hussein showed that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horner/nuclear-deterrence-doesn-t-work-outside-of-the-russian-u-s-context/) [Charles Horner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horner/) > [Our nuclear free status means that we decline to acquiesce in the strategies of nuclear deterrence. We will not turn a blind eye to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lange/our-nuclear-free-status-means-that-we-decline-to-acquiesce-in-the/) [David Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lange/) > [No punishment has ever possessed enough power of deterrence to prevent the commission of crimes. On the contrary, whatever the punishment, once a specific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/no-punishment-has-ever-possessed-enough-power-of-deterrence-to/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [You know, we want to lead with diplomacy in every case, but if deterrence falls and you must fight, you fight to win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-austin/you-know-we-want-to-lead-with-diplomacy-in-every-case-but-if/) [Lloyd Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-austin/) > [As a law enforcer, one of the things that I think most about is deterrence. You really want to ensure that firms are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-khan/as-a-law-enforcer-one-of-the-things-that-i-think-most-about-is/) [Lina Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-khan/) > [When you have a regime that would be happier in the afterlife than in this life, this is not a regime that is subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bolton/when-you-have-a-regime-that-would-be-happier-in-the-afterlife-than-in/) [John Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bolton/) > [For the US, the Kosovo War was a success because it encouraged the development of the Pentagon's 'Revolution in Military Affairs' (RMA). The war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/for-the-us-the-kosovo-war-was-a-success-because-it-encouraged-the/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) [Browse all 55 Deterrence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deterrence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is deterrence that has prevented the use of nuclear weapons by all states that possess them since 1945.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Malinowski" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/it-is-deterrence-that-has-prevented-the-use-of-nuclear-weapons-by-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Deterrence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/it-is-deterrence-that-has-prevented-the-use-of-nuclear-weapons-by-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/tom-malinowski-5887_nuclear_it-is-deterrence-that-has-prevented-the_2227132.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/tom-malinowski-5887_nuclear_it-is-deterrence-that-has-prevented-the_2227132.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/tom-malinowski-5887_nuclear_it-is-deterrence-that-has-prevented-the_2227132.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is deterrence that has prevented the use of nuclear weapons by all states that possess them since 1945.” — Tom Malinowski", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tom Malinowski", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is deterrence that has prevented...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/it-is-deterrence-that-has-prevented-the-use-of-nuclear-weapons-by-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/it-is-deterrence-that-has-prevented-the-use-of-nuclear-weapons-by-all/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```