The Nuclear Arms Of The United States And The Soviet Union

Robert Jervis in ‘Security dilemma’ states that “states can neither neglect the possibility that others will become aggressive in the future nor credibly guarantee that they themselves remain peaceful”. He argued that although other motives such as ‘greed, glory and honour’ come into play, much of international politics is

The Cold War was the start of the major changes in human history. Two important events that occurred were the arms race and the space race. “An arms race denotes a rapid increase in the quantity or quality of instruments of military power by rival states in peacetime. A close examination of the historical evidence reveals a different picture. Political purposes almost always drive and govern arms races. It is common for a major race to be initiated by a state interested in changing the political status quo” (Arms Race). The arms race was a major rearmament between the USSR and the United States. Each country was producing new weapons at an alarming rate to be better than the other. The newly created nuclear weapons were a major playing force for the arms race. Each country

Nuclear Proliferation is defined as the rapid spread or increase of nuclear weapons. Nuclear Proliferation has been a conflict worldwide for years. It all started during the Cold War, when the Soviet Union and the United States competed to obtain more nuclear weapons. As the Cold War continued, France, Britain, and China all began to develop their own nuclear technology. On July 1, 1968, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was signed and entered into force in 1970. Under this treaty, a total of 190 parties have agreed to help prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. A few years later, the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks non-proliferation act (SALT 1) was signed on May 26, 1972 and entered into force on October 3, 1972. After several years of struggle, the Cold War ended in December 1991.

The Nuclear Arms race was part of the Cold War between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R taking place between 1949 and 1991. The race officially started on August 29, 1949 when the Soviets successfully tested their first atomic bomb which scared the U.S. Previously only the U.S. had access to the technology capable of creating an atomic bomb which was conceived during the Second World War as part of the Manhattan Project. Now with U.S.S.R. gaining nuclear technology, the monopoly the U.S had on it was gone.

The Cold War was a stress of powers between the Soviet Union and the United States. Each country was battling for the spot as the superpower of the world. Each one thought that they needed to be the leading power to bring the world into a new age. Both began what was known as the “arms race” to see which one was able to invent atomic bombs first.

The nuclear arms race was caused by the decreasing Soviet-American relations. This was because the United States wanted to control all atomic knowledge and weaponry. The United States proposed the Acheson Lilienthal report on March 28th, 1946.

Topic: Nuclear weapons in the 1940’s to 1990’sThesis: How have nuclear weapons changed over timeNuclear weapons have changed so much since the first nuclear bomb test launch in 19451 that was when it all began they have changed a lot in the short time they dropped the first on hiroshima that one killed more than 140,000 thousand people. More people died later from radiation related illnesses. Three days later another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and 74,000 people died in that explosion and at the time cost the US 2 billion dollars just to make one of the bombs and the tested a couple of them too.1 http://www.atomicarchive.com/Timeline/Time1950.shtml

Soon after the Second World War, the two emerging super powers being the United States and Soviet Union began a 50-yearlong hostility known as the Cold War. The Cold War was simply a state of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union over issues of political influence and economic policy. A big characteristic of the Cold War was the arms race it caused. Initially, after the Second World War, only the United States had atomic bombs. But, in 1949, the Soviets successfully tested a bomb of their own, and the race began. Both sides began making more and more bombs, to the point of absurdity. Many people in the scientific community feared that this proliferation of these weapons could result in a thermonuclear war that could wipe mankind entirely. A noted figure in this fear was Albert Einstein. He was convinced that the only way to stop the risk of war and destruction was the act of nonproliferation and disarmament. He was quoted as saying “The war is won, but the peace is not”, (American Museum of Natural History). Within the context of geopolitical competition and tension, a claim can be made that previous decisions to stockpile nuclear weapons are disastrous in nature, and that these decisions ought to be reversed to protect the world from the risk of

The arms race was a way to make the two countries scare one another, and it was to see who could build or have the most devastating guns and bombs (Brubaker, 2001). The deadlier the weapons the more

Following the second World War, tensions arose between the United States and the Soviet Union in what is known as the Cold War. The Cold War was mostly a war of threats and races for prestige, such as the arms race and space race. However, the war of threats boiled over into proxy wars fought between ally countries of either side, economically and militarily aided by the two superpowers. Although the Cold War did not involve open warfare between the US and Soviet Union, aggression was manifested through the use of economic warfare, utilizing the arms race, space race, and proxy wars.

Imminent death is a scary thought as well as the idea of a massive explosion killing thousands of people. Nuclear muntions have been a part of our nuclear arsenal for several decades now. The amount of mass destruction that can be seen from a nuclear explosion is dreadful but may sometimes be deemed necessary. The purpose of nuclear munitions for the United States is to deter enemies from attacking our homeland, ally countries, and other crucial interests.10 The destructive power of nuclear weapons had a steadying capability on superior countries because the cost would not outweigh the benefits. The importance that nuclear weapons served after World War Two increased due to tensions between Russia during the Cold War. The ability to retaliate with our superior nuclear arsenal has the power to influence any opponent that threats made to our homeland can result in certain devastation.10 The main focus of the use of nuclear munitions is geared toward massive encounters. Massive nuclear encounters could result in whats called a nuclear winter. This is when an enourmous amount of nuclear munitions have been detonated to cause soot and ash to cover the sky enough to block out sunlight and make the weather cooler.5 The alteration to the atmosphere for a nuclear winter could last several years depending on the amount of detonations. The severity of this is what causes the United States and

Throughout history, conflict had always broken out between enemies when the appearance of deterrence — the material and spiritual likelihood of using greater military power successfully against an aggressive enemy — vanished. From Carthage to the Confederacy, weaker bellicose states could convince themselves of the impossible because their fantasies were not checked earlier by cold reality. A stronger appearance of power, and of the willingness to employ it, might have stopped more conflicts before they began.

World War 1, and World War 2 especially, brought a rise to war technology. With one of history’s biggest wars relentlessly crushing everything in it’s path, countries needed a way to defend themselves and fight back. Tension from the second World War brought the Soviet Union and the United States to a standoff of nuclear arms, each waiting for the other to pull the trigger…

Arms race: when two or more countries have a competition to see who can have the principal, superlative, and most commanding weapons (Merriam Webster). The United States successfully launched the world’s first atomic bomb August 6, 1945. Dropping a weapon so prevailing to destroy cities was something the Soviet Union couldn’t defend unless they had something correspondingly demoralizing. Thus, started the Arms Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. There were no weapons fired during the Arms Race and everybody remained in their own country. Today, the Arms Race is still going between the Soviet Union now known as Russia and the United States.

Quickly following the end of World War ll, the Soviet Union and the United States were in a battle to become the more technologically advanced than each other. These countries were at the forefront of the Atomic Age, creating new and improved weapons systems for bigger, and better bombs. This deadly arms race earned the title of a “Cold War.”