States still plan quietly for unlikely wars

Do countries still prepare contingency plans for fighting unlikely adversaries?

Yes; quiet professional staffs still work on such plans, even though they are rarely discussed publicly.

States still maintain plans for conflicts that leaders do not expect or desire. The work is usually kept out of public discussion and assigned to professional staffs. A contingency plan records assumptions and options rather than predicting that the war will occur. Preparedness and policy remain separate institutional questions.