2025/12/19 by Wilfred Wan · 2 voices
paper · doi:10.55163/xmpj2147
openalex created_date 2025/12/19 · openalex publication_date 2025/12/19 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Contemporary warfare is characterized by military operations that encompass multiple domains—from air, land and sea to the increasingly prominent cyber, outer space and information domains—and feature the convergence of advanced technological capabilities. New vectors of vulnerability stemming from this and from increasing interactions between nuclear and non-nuclear strategic capabilities raise the spectre of escalation and introduce new potential pathways for use of nuclear weapons. These new risk possibilities have not been thoroughly explored in national policies or multilateral forums. Effectively addressing multidomain escalation risk requires that nuclear-armed states lead a revisiting of the concept of ‘strategic stability’ and systematically map multidomain escalation scenarios, while engaging non-nuclear-armed states and other stakeholders. The crisis-avoidance and -management toolkit also needs to be updated to reflect multidomain risk scenarios. These and other pragmatic steps can help prevent escalation pathways from coming into fruition. A longer-term approach is required to reverse arms racing trends and thinking regarding strategic capabilities.