How can states use military force to achieve their political aims without triggering a catastrophic nuclear war? How has China coped with this dilemma? While other nuclear-armed countries have preferred the traditional options of threatening to use nuclear weapons or fielding capabilities for decisive conventional military victories, China has instead chosen to rely on information-age weapons—offensive cyber capabilities, counterspace capabilities and precision conventional missiles—to coerce its adversaries.
In our 2026 Kelleher Forum at CISSM, Dr. Fiona Cunningham explains this distinctive aspect of China’s post–Cold War deterrence strategy using an original theory of strategic substitution. When crises with adversaries highlighted the inadequacy of China’s existing military capabilities, China pursued information-age weapons that promised to provide coercive leverage against adversaries more quickly and credibly than the traditional options adopted by other nuclear-armed states.
Cunningham's research provides new insights into the information-age technologies that are reshaping military strategies. This talk is based on her recent book, Under the Nuclear Shadow: China’s Information-Age Weapons in International Security (Princeton University Press, 2025), which draws on hundreds of original Chinese-language sources and interviews with experts in China.
About the Speaker
Fiona Cunningham is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests lie at the intersection of technology and international security, with a focus on China. Her articles on U.S.-China relations, nuclear strategy, cybersecurity, escalation dynamics and international law have appeared in International Security, Security Studies, Journal of Strategic Studies and Texas National Security Review. Cunningham is the author of Under the Nuclear Shadow: China’s Information-Age Weapons in International Security (Princeton University Press, 2025), which examines China’s distinctive approach to the dilemma of coercing an adversary under the shadow of nuclear war, relying on substitutes for nuclear threats.
Cunningham has held fellowships at the Renmin University of China, Harvard University, Stanford University, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Yale University. She has nonresident affiliations with the MIT Security Studies Program, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and ANU National Security College. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from MIT.
About Catherine M. Kelleher
Each year, during Women's History Month, we host a special forum dedicated to honoring CISSM's founder, Dr. Catherine Kelleher, for her contributions to the field of international security policy. Kelleher was a champion for women in the field through mentorship and the establishment of Women in International Security (WIIS).
Kelleher is also the inspiration for the Catherine M. Kelleher Fellowship Fund for International Security Studies, which supports an exceptional graduate student pursuing her master’s or doctoral degree at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. Contribute to the Catherine M. Kelleher Fellowship Fund for International Security Studies.
In remembrance and deep admiration for Kelleher's enduring legacy, we extend an invitation to explore more about her extraordinary life and contributions. Take a closer look into her story.