The Nuclear Game That Will Never End

Markets aren’t really buying into Putin’s vague nuclear threats. Putin’s most recent announcement that Moscow may add “preventive nuclear strikes” to its military doctrine likewise has not been taken as a direct threat, but rather as part of a game of nuclear words bandied about to keep the fear factor alive.

Some “analytical” magazines are keen to warn that we should not assume Putin will remain a “rational actor” if his regime faces collapse. There are few rational actors in this world, however,…