Book Talk: "Strange Stability"

Join ONP for an online seminar with Dr. Benjamin Wilson discussing his latest book, "Strange Stability: How Cold War Scientists Set Out to Control the Arms Race and Ended Up Serving the Military-Industrial Complex."

Cover of Benjamin Wilson's book "Strange Stability"

Do scientists speak truth to power? During the Cold War, a group of elite American strategists and science advisors claimed to do precisely that. Styling themselves as figures of rationality and restraint, they insisted that mutual assured destruction was the natural logic of the atomic age: as long as nuclear deterrence was credible, no one would ever shoot first. This doctrine, known as “strategic stability,” became the foundation of the arms control movement, earning its promoters widespread admiration as independent thinkers and steadfast peacemakers. But in this crucial counterhistory, Benjamin Wilson shows that we have misunderstood them and their efforts. Arms controllers, he reveals, worked not to restrain the nuclear arms race but to marginalize more radical approaches to disarmament.

In this online seminar, author Dr. Benjamin Wilson will be discussing the release of his latest book, "Strange Stability."

To register for this event, please complete the following form:

https://nettskjema.no/a/582603

Organiser

Jamie Withorne, on behalf of the Oslo Nuclear Project
Tags: Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Deterrence, Political Science, History
Published Jan. 8, 2026 4:15 PM - Last modified Jan. 8, 2026 4:15 PM