>if your enemy does use nuclear weapons on you for any reason, is it then still rational to stick to your strategy? Yup. If you're the kind of agent that would

>if your enemy does use nuclear weapons on you for any reason, is it then still rational to stick to your strategy? Yup. If you're the kind of agent that wouldn't stick to your strategy of retaliation, then that changes the best strategies for other players in a way that harms you. Interestingly, there's a significant amount of "removing the steering wheel" going on in terms of nuclear strategy. I remember reading that British nuclear submarine commanders would have a sealed envelope, to be opened and read only in case nuclear war destroys the British Government. It contains one of four orders - retaliate with nuclear weapons, do not retaliate, try to place yourself under American command, or to use your own judgement. The very interesting part is that it convinces others that nuking London might automatically mean that they get hit back, but does not obligate Britain to actually making nuclear war worse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letters_of_last_resort https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letters_of_last_resort