The advent of nuclear weapons fundamentally altered the nature, meaning, and practice of conventional war. In the nuclear age, conventional war continues to exist, but it is deeply shaped by the presence of nuclear deterrence, strategic restraint, and the fear of escalation. Unlike the pre-nuclear era, where total war between major powers was conceivable and often pursued, the nuclear age imposes limits on the scale, objectives, and conduct of conventional conflicts, especially among nuclear-armed states. Nuclear weapons introduced the logic of deterrence, particularly mutual assured destruction, which discourages direct large-scale conventional war between nuclear powers. The catastrophic consequences of nuclear escalation make total conventional war irrational, as military