Advent of Nuclear Weapons

Advent of Nuclear Weapons

• The initial nuclear device was tested by the United States at the Trinity site on July 16, 1945, producing a yield equivalent to around 20 kilotons of TNT.
• United State dropped nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively, during the final phase of World War II.
• The United Kingdom consented to the bombings by the United States, as outlined in the Quebec Agreement.
• The only use of nuclear weapons in warfare remains the two bombings which killed at least 129,000 people.
• The 'Tsar Bomba,' the Soviet Union's largest nuclear weapon ever tested, occurred at Novaya Zemlya on October 30, 1961, and generated an estimated 50 megatons.

Nations with Nuclear Arsenals

• The following countries have known nuclear arsenals: the USA, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, and Israel.
• North Korea is the only country to have performed nuclear tests in the 21st century.

Nations That Gave up Nuclear Weapons

• South Africa, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine are nations that possessed nuclear weapons but relinquished them.

Nations That Commenced Nuclear Programmes But Abandoned Later,

• Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Poland, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and Yugoslavia.

Debates About Nuclear Order

• International opinion was divided when atomic bombs were dropped on Japan.
• Dropping bombs was considered a disproportionate use of force, similar to a significant war crime, since the victims were mostly citizens.
• It was also argued that it was essential to ending World War II, or that the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor were simply a reaction.
• It was hotly debated whether nuclear weapons had actually made the world safer, particularly after the Soviets successfully tested their first nuclear weapon in 1949, reversing the US military advantage.
• Nuclear deterrence theorists contend that it has been effective in lowering the possibility of war.
• They contend that countries with nuclear weapons are hesitant to use military force against one another out of fear of retribution, see Achen and Snidal (1989).
• In the same vein, “proliferation optimists” contend that rather than opposing it, the proliferation of nuclear weapons promotes international stability.

Conversely, Many Take on The View It Hasn't Made The World any Safer

• There is an unlikely possibility of nuclear holocaust.
• Raymond Aron, a French sociologist, observed in 1966 that nuclear deterrence may prevent states from engaging in strategic conflict while enabling them to engage in low-intensity conflict.

Attempts to Restrict Spread

• By the mid-1960s during the Cold War, there were five acknowledged nuclear weapon states: the US, the Soviet Union, the UK, France, and the People's Republic of China.
• The five permanent members of the UN Security Council are represented by all states.
• It is generally known that all parties have come to an understanding that additional steps are required to halt the spread of this technology.
• It has been said that the reason for this is to support them in maximizing their military superiority over the remainder of the world.
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty negotiations (NPT) were concluded on July 1, 1968.
• Prior to that, however, the nuclear weapons states had at least formally made a concerted effort to reduce the potential of proliferation.

The Evolution of the Global NPT Regime

• The Baruch Plan, presented to the United Nations in 1946, was the first attempt to regulate nuclear proliferation.
• As a result of significant disagreements between the US and the USSR, this was unsuccessful.
• The International Atomic Energy Agency was founded in 1957 by the United Nations to oversee the safe utilization of nuclear materials.
• The IAEA was able to deploy a thorough monitoring system by the mid-1960s, known as safeguarding, to guarantee the peaceful employment of nuclear energy. All nuclear explosions and the disposal of nuclear trash in Antarctica were outlawed by the Antarctic Treaty in 1959.
• The Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States reached an agreement in 1963 on the Partial Test Ban Treaty, which forbade the testing of nuclear weapons in the air, underwater, and outer space.
• Testing activities were now required to be conducted belowground.
• In 1967, Latin America ratified the Agreement for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
• The Non-Proliferation Treaty went into effect in 1970 and has been open for signatures since 1968.
• The US and the Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT 1) in 1972 to restrict the quantity of anti-ballistic missiles that could be deployed.
• The Intermediate Nuclear Force Agreement, signed in 1987, placed restrictions on the range of mid-range missiles employed by the Soviet Union and the United States.
• The usage of MIRVs (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles) in ICBMs was outlawed by the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty II in 1993.
• Although it was approved by the UN in 1996, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) has not yet been ratified.
• The Moscow Treaty of 2002 brought American and Russian nuclear deployments by 20% compared to Cold War levels.
• With deployment levels limited to just 1,550 strategic warheads each for Russia and the US, the New START Accords were concluded in 2010.
• Adopted at the UN General Assembly in 2017, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit all nuclear weapons with the long term goal of destruction.
• None of the recognized nuclear weapons states, however, have signed this Treaty.

‘Double-Standards’ on Proliferation

• There have been accusations of double standards against the nuclear P-5 members, despite formal and aggressive efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons.
• Even during the NPT period, they have aided proliferation.
• France provided sensitive nuclear assistance to Israel beginning in 1959, and it is believed that Israel built its first nuclear weapon just two years after French assistance ended.
• China helped Pakistan's nuclear program in the early 1980s by providing technology for uranium enrichment, weapons-grade uranium, and a nuclear weapons design. China also backed Pakistan in the 1990s in the development of ICBMs.
• The US, in particular, has used a significant amount of coercion to dissuade numerous nations from continuing with their nuclear programs.

Why Seek Nuclear Arsenal?

• Obtaining nuclear technology is a lengthy and costly undertaking. Why, therefore, do authorities look for it?
• Aids in overcoming military limitations based on standard weaponry.
• Serves as a potent deterrent against military dangers.
• Bolsters the military presence within the nation.
• Less dependence on "great powers" alliances.
• The development of their own programs by South Korea and Taiwan was discouraged by the USA.
• Also, it can be reasonably seen as a "great power," which has economic and political ramifications.
• To achieve diplomacy's objectives.

Assessing Nuclear Strength

• Number of warheads
• Number of deployed warheads
• Age of warheads
• The nuclear triad refers to a strategic nuclear arsenal with traditionally three components: strategic bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs,) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).
• Location of arsenal - Geographical spread is important.
• Missile range
• Missile accuracy
• Single or multi target capabilities
• The payload
• Defensive systems include anti-ballistic missiles, a Strategic Defense Initiative ('Star Wars'), and NMD.

A 'Close Shave' Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962

• Ballistic missile deployment in Turkey and Italy, as well as the threat of a US invasion of Cuba, led to the Soviet deployment of missiles in Cuba.

Threats to Non-Proliferation

• The following are some probable, both real and potential, dangers to non-proliferation: These consist of the following, listed in order:
• Nations are not required to ratify the NPT and may voluntarily withdraw.
• AQ Khan of Pakistan is selling nuclear secrets to Libya, Iran, and North Korea.
• Militaries are acquiring weapons from terrorists.
• A military division within a country possessing nuclear warheads?
• Nations lacking a strong government or falling outside of the international power system, such as North Korea.
• The Regan administration's proposed anti-ballistic missile system was known as "Star Wars" or the Strategic Defense Initiative. -It never materialized because it was feared that it would intensify the likelihood of a nuclear conflict with the Soviets. -The George W. Bush administration unveiled plans for a National Missile Defense system more recently.