The Challenge of Abolishing Nuclear Weapons

David Krieger

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9781412810364
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351485401
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: Politics & International Relations

In the more than sixty years since the advent of nuclear weapons, there has been little meaningful progress toward nuclear disarmament. Some countries have nuclear weapons, while other states are forbidden to acquire them, a status quo that lacks rational basis and cannot be sustained. In this remarkable collection, scholars and policy analysts argue that humankind has a choice: either allow nuclear weapons to continue to proliferate throughout the world or move toward their complete elimination.The vast majority of people on the planet would surely opt to abolish nuclear weapons. But decisions about nuclear weapons are not made by the public, but by small groups of political elites. Consequently, in a world with nuclear weapons, the fate of humanity rests in the hands of a small number of individuals, whose perceptions, communications, and judgment determine whether there is to be a future.The contributors to this volume provide historical perspective on nuclear weapons policy; explore the role of international law in furthering the prospects of nuclear weapons abolition; consider the obstacles to abolition; present a path to achieving a nuclear weapons-free world; and look beyond abolition to consider issues of post-abolition sovereignty and general and complete disarmament. The goal of a nuclear weapons-free world can be awakened by an engaged citizenry bringing pressure from below in demanding action from political leaders. This book contributes to this awakening and engagement.

Index

123 Indo-USA Civilian Nuclear Energy Agreement, 16, 18-19, 40

A-bomb, 4, 65, 68-71, 93, 106, 126, 173, 186, 216, 229, 248, 255

abolition,

call for action, xiii-xv, 11-13, 60-61, 94-98, 173, 175-178, 246-252

possible life after abolishment, 191-192, 211-215

proposal, xx-xxii, 208-210

suggested reasons, 8-9

transformation process, 177-180, 187

Abolition 2000, 12, 97, 173, 214, 259-260

Adenauer, Konrad, 224

Afghanistan, 48, 133, 145, 158, 201, 212

Akiba, Tadatoshi, 215-216

Al Qaeda, 7, 8, 48

Amnesty International, 91-92

Annan, Kofi, 29, 91, 97, 105, 193

Antarctic Treaty, 103

Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, 10, 28, 207, 223

antinuclear activism, 12, 21, 50, 54-55, 97, 199-200, 206-209

Arai, Tatsushi, 245-253

Argentina, 26-27, 40, 84-85

Arkin, William, 56-57, 122

Arms Control Association, 142

arms race, beginnings, 3-4, 208

between superpowers, 9, 25-26, 45, 246-249

Middle East, 49-50

power struggles, 12-13, 188, 223, 228-229

stopping, 82, 166, 171-172, 200-201, 214, 234, 257-259

United States, 126, 143

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 156

Axis of Evil, 8, 163

Axworthy, Lloyd, 150

Aziz, Tariq, 56-57

Baker, James A., III, 56-57

Beckett, Margaret, 175

Belarus, 84, 225

Belau, 164

Belgium, 148-150

Berlin Wall, xxii, 45, 61-62, 64

Bharatiya...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• List of Acronyms
• I. The Challenge of Abolition
• II. Historical Perspectives
• III. The Role of International Law
• IV. Obstacles to Abolition
• V. The Path to a Nuclear Weapon-Free World
• VI. Citizen Empowerment
• VII. Beyond Abolition
• Appendices
• Contributors
• Index