Debates on the future role of nuclear weapons
Author
Özer, Özkan
Advisor
Kibaroğlu, Mustafa
Date
2002Publisher
Bilkent University
Language
English
Type
ThesisItem Usage Stats
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Abstract
Nuclear weapons are the most destructive power of the world, because of
their inherited and unique potential capability to destroy the humanity in a matter of
minutes. While some experts have perceived them as the main mechanisms of the
international stability, peace and security, others have recognized them as the most
formidable threat to the humanity. Meanwhile, on part of the US, they had been,
throughout the Cold War, the main equalizer against conventional superiority of the
Soviet Block and the main instrument of deterring a Soviet nuclear or conventional
attack against the US and its allies. Hence, nuclear deterrence became the dominant
concept of the Cold War to escape their actual use. However, the nuclear question of
“how much is enough to deter enemy,” induced the Soviets and Americans to have
huge nuclear arsenals, bigger than the nuclear stockpiles of each other. With the
collapse of Soviet Union, this strategic system has transformed. The threat of nuclear
war between two superpowers disappeared but new nuclear dangers began to surface
within the unpredictable framework of the post-Cold War period. Moreover, the
rational behind possessing huge nuclear stockpiles vanished. Because of these
imperatives of the post-Cold War era, a number of people including military and
civilian leaders, and prominent experts or academics in the US began to articulate
their views on the future role of nuclear weapons in the US security policy. While
some recommend realizing the goal of total elimination of nuclear weapons as
envisaged in the Article VI under NPT and abandonment of nuclear deterrence,
others seem to reject making any radical change in the US nuclear strategy. In this
context, there are many arguments and counter-arguments capturing substantial
support from different groups and consequently a contemporary debate about the US
nuclear strategy in the post-Cold War and the ongoing strategic arms reduction
process.
Keywords
Deterrencenuclear weapons
ABM
security
START
US
Soviet Union
Russia
debate
terrorism
HEU
Plutonium