This question is particularly pointed when a powerful losing side like China might appear to care more than the United States about the stakes at issue, for instance, Taiwan. China might be willing to bear much more suffering and risk to achieve its goals, and even if it were defeated within a given rule set, it might prefer to escalate to a more favorable rule set despite the attendant risks. This quandary is especially salient when survivable nuclear arsenals overhang the contest. In such circumstances, a side losing within a given rule set can always resort to nuclear employment in a bid
...more
