CIVILIAN RESISTANCE BEST DETERS A NUCLEAR ATTACK Robert P. Churchill. Nuclear Arms as a Philosophical and Moral Issue Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 469, Nuclear Armament and Disarmament (Sep, 1983), pp. 46-57. p. 57. Civilian resistance, which unlike nuclear forces can be used only for defensive purposes, would remove that danger and thereby reduce the chances of annihilation. In addition, while there remain some circumstances under which a nuclear attack might seem rational, given present deterrence policies, there appear to be no circumstances under which a nuclear attack on an unarmed nation would appear rational. It will surely be objected that civilian resistance could not save a nation from a maniacal opponent. However, since no one can predict what a maniac would do, there is no more reason to suppose that he would respond rationally to nuclear threats than that he would pointlessly devastate an unarmed and unthreatening country.
