Elmar Hellendoorn on The Diplomat: Is it time for nuclear sharing in East Asia?

Together with Christine Leah, Utrecht historian Elmar Hellendoorn (History of International Relations) published an article on The Diplomat (19 September) that discusses whether the NATO model of nuclear sharing could be a model that works for the Asia-Pacific region.

The dynamics that generated U.S.-NATO nuclear sharing in Europe in the late 1950s seem to be emerging in Asia today. Hellendoorn discusses recent geopolitical developments and evaluates whether or not this nuclear sharing model could work in Asia today. These issues feed into the bigger issue of developing a coherent maritime doctrine, and giving allies a say in this doctrine, just like with NATO. Hellendoorn argues that "given the increasing relevance of nuclear weapons to U.S. maritime strategy, it might make sense for U.S. allies to be more involved in dialogue and planning."