Apocalyptic Technical Communication from Clockface to Briefcase: Revealing the Spurious Coin of Nuclear-Security Rhetoric

Ryan Cheek Missouri University of Science and Technology

Abstract

This article the Doomsday Clock and the Nuclear Football as interconnected technical communication artifacts that function as two sides of a “spurious coin” in the securitization of nuclear deterrence. While the Clock externalizes existential risk through apocalyptic rhetoric, the Football internalizes it within exclusive military command structures—together legitimizing perpetual nuclear crisis. Drawing on technical communication scholarship and critical security studies, the analysis argues that both artifacts sustain nuclearist ideology by reinforcing deterrence as common sense. The Clock's ominous countdown and the Football's ever-present launch capability are mutually validating and together normalize nuclear brinkmanship as the price of global security.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2025-10-07
DOI
10.1177/00472816251384930
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