The repeated wars of the seventeenth through early twentieth centuries are set against the relative restraint associated with the Cold War nuclear shadow. A contemporary India-China border confrontation illustrates opponents limiting their weapons to avoid a lethal step upward. The hypothetical ladder runs from rifles and artillery through aircraft, submarine-versus-ship combat, shore attack, and ultimately nuclear weapons. Deterrence can shape naval choices even when the immediate confrontation begins on land.
Notable Point · 3:26-5:38
How nuclear deterrence reshaped escalation choices
A strategic aside contrasts the frequent warfare surrounding earlier Dogger Bank actions with modern efforts to keep local violence below an escalatory threshold.