Abstract
In the latest issue of the Nonproliferation Review, Michael Cohen made a case for "optimistic pessimism" regarding the consequences of nuclear proliferation (23.3/4, June- July 2016, pp. 425-42), suggesting that "nuclear proliferation poses some dangers under some conditions, but the dangers are much weaker than usually assumed." While we applaud the re-opening of the optimist-pessimist debate, we also believe that some of these arguments deserve further scrutiny.