Daniel R. Post
Commander Daniel R. Post is a permanent military professor in the Strategy and Policy Department at the US Naval War College. He received a BS in mathematics from the United States Naval Academy (with honors), an MA in national security and strategic studies from the US Naval War College (with highest distinction), an MA in political science from Brown University, and a PhD in political science from Brown University. His research focuses on nuclear strategy, deterrence, escalation dynamics, limited nuclear war, and conflict termination. This includes studies of past war-gaming and military exercises to explore potential escalation dynamics in limited nuclear wars. Additionally, he conducts experimental survey work and interview-based research on nuclear deterrence strategies and escalation dynamics. He is a former Navy helicopter pilot and his most recent assignment was as nuclear strike advisor and chief of strike advisor training in the Global Operations Center at the US Strategic Command.
Author's Articles
Virtuous Violence and the Psychology of Nuclear Escalation
Paul Slovic, Rose McDermott, and Daniel R. Post argue that nuclear strategy too often assumes rational, stable decision-making despite decades of psychological research on bounded rationality and bias. Drawing on survey experiments based on the Sagan and…
When Our Minds Go Nuclear: Rethinking Nuclear Strategy Through the Psychology of Risk and Decision-Making
Cognitive biases can systematically distort judgments about the use of nuclear weapons, potentially undermining nuclear stability and increasing the risk of nuclear war. In survey experiments with nearly 3,000 US participants, we show how psychological…