Are North Korea, Iran Better Positioned to Win Nuclear War?

Nuclear war may well be more "winnable" for a totalitarian state than for a Western democracy because totalitarian regimes are much less averse to the horrifying death tolls that are likely to accompany such a victory.

"Victory" has political and cultural dimensions that are different for totalitarian states, aspects that would seem incomprehensible and antithetical to the humanitarian ethos of Western democracies. From 1930-1945, Russia sacrificed 50 million people – 20 million in purges and 30 million on the battlefields of World War II – to build and defend socialism. Those sacrifices are celebrated and considered great victories by Russia today.