The Use, Impact, and Future of Nuclear Weapons

If nuclear weapons are used in war sustainable life on this planet will be ended. Nuclear Weapons have only been used a few times in the history of this earth. The few times nuclear weapons were used the amount of damaged they caused was devastating. The first country to use nuclear weapons was the United States during World War II. On August 6, 1945 an atomic bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima killing between 90,000 and 166,000. Then on August 6th, 1945 the second atomic bomb nicknamed “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki killing 60,000 – 80,000 people. These statistics show how devastating nuclear weapons were when they were used and how they can be if they are used again. This paper will examine the Dangerous effects of

Two main theorists of international relations, Kenneth Waltz and Scott Sagan have been debating on the issue of nuclear weapons and the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the 21st century. In their book The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: An Enduring Debate, they both discuss their various theories, assumptions and beliefs on nuclear proliferation and nuclear weapons. To examine why states would want to attain/develop a nuclear weapon and if increasing nuclear states is a good or bad thing. In my paper, I will discuss both of their theories and use a case study to illustrate which theory I agree with and then come up with possible solutions of preventing a nuclear war from occurring.

Since the invention of nuclear weapons, they have presented the world with a significant danger, one that was shown in reality during the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, nuclear weapons have not only served in combat, but they have also played a role in keeping the world peaceful by the concept of deterrence. The usage of nuclear weapons would lead to mutual destruction and during the Cold War, nuclear weapons were necessary to maintain international security, as a means of deterrence. However, by the end of the Cold War, reliance on nuclear weapons for maintaining peace became increasingly difficult and less effective (Shultz, et. al, 2007). The development of technology has also provided increasing opportunities for states

Nuclear Weapons have persisted to be the decisive deterrent to any assailant, and the best means of establishing peace. There are many different views on nuclear weapons, even though they cost an extravagate amount of money; they come with positive aspects’. In fact nuclear weapons are one of the greatest reasons that nations do not want to go to war, but alternately, strive to inquire clarification through negotiations. First and foremost, it is very important to analyze just how nuclear weapons prevent war.

Nuclear weapons have been a present factor in my lifetime, and in WWII the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused thousands of deaths. Nuclear weapons are the most destructive, inhumane weapons ever created. Both in the scale of the devastation that they cause, and in their uniquely persistent, genetically damaging radioactive fallout, they are not like any other weapon. A single nuclear bomb detonated over a city could kill millions of people. The use of tens or hundreds of nukes would disrupt the world's climate, causing lots of famine.(Arguments for nuclear abolition)

The first use of nuclear weaponry in warfare occurred on the morning of August 6, 1945 when the United States dropped the atomic bomb known as “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan. The result was devastating, demonstrating the true power of nuclear warfare. Since the incident, the world has been left fearing the possible calamity of another nuclear war. Joseph Siracusa’s Nuclear Weapons: A Very Short Introduction explains aspects of nuclear weaponry from simply what a nuclear weapon is, to the growing fear from nuclear warfare advancements in an age of terrorism. The book furthered my education on nuclear weapons and the effect they place on society, physically and mentally.

With the United States holding Nuclear Weapons, barely if not any countries would stand up to the United States. If there was a tree, full of all the countries, on the very top branch is America. On the second branch Russia and China reside. On the Third branch are the countries of the UK, France, Germany, and India. As you can see, every single country on these three branches, the very top, all have Nuclear Weapons (other than Germany). These make their positions in the world tree of power clear, not to be messed with. These countries have many amounts of Nuclear weapons and the only countries that rival each other are each other! These countries have massive economies to support these weapons, and other than the countries that hold dictatorships (China, North Korea and Russia) Nuclear Weapons are safe in their hands, especially in the United States compared to other countries. The United States has

Main articles: Nuclear weapons and the United States and United States and weapons of mass destruction

Nuclear weapons have only ever been used once in human history, and that was during World War II when The United States deployed missiles on Japanese territory, in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. At the time of bombing in 1945 only the USA had developed nuclear weapons, whilst today the pool of states consisting of nuclear weapons is still extremely small, with only nine states laying claim to nuclear technology and weaponry. This nuclear proliferation is explained by Darryl Howlett who explains this as the worldwide spread of nuclear weapons. For Howlett states are nuclear driven because of the ‘strategic, political and prestige benefits’ attached to nuclear weapons[1]. In the

Imagine a weapon that can completely decimate entire cities with the opening of a bomb chute from a plane soaring high in the air, out of sight. This weapon exists, and everyone should have an opinion regarding its usage in the modern world. Before forming an opinion, learning about how the weapon was used in the past. Being such a dangerous and omnipotent thing to possess, it has only been used as an attack twice in the history of mankind. As the weapon has severe ramifications, countries have been able to use the bomb as a threat and an intimidation tool in negotiations with other countries. This is called atomic diplomacy, and has been present in the modern world before the first atomic bomb was made. As mankind learns more and more about

The Russian nuclear model, SS-18, and the U.S. MX models have the capabilities to cause more destruction than all the munitions used in World War II (A.G. Arbatove/ Belous, V.S./ Pikaev, A.A./ Baranovsky, V.G). As devastating as that may be to know, these models make up but a small portion of the Russian and United States' nuclear arsenals. These weapons as well as others are constantly maintained on a high alert status, creating more ground for an accidental exchange of "massive nuclear strikes". The dangers of nuclear escalation are real threats, threats that don't need a serious situation to occur. Today, several states have made progress in their attainment of nuclear arsenals. These activities are an inevitable result of the current nuclear position of several countries including the United States. The reasoning behind it all is the fact that possession of nuclear weapons by some states stimulates other nations to obtain them, so as to avoid becoming inferior or open to attack from any other country. The philosophy of the modern day

“I think one country with nuclear weapons is one country too many.” This quote by Mohamed ElBaradei, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, shows that nuclear weapons are not a bright idea for the future of humanity, even though many people debate on this topic. Nuclear weapons are dangerous, menacing arsenals to Earth. In 1942, the U.S. created the Manhattan Project to develop the first nuclear arms. During World War II, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. This was the start to the controversy of these types of weapons. It started the ban on nuclear weaponry, but also the start of the production of these weapons. Many people globally believe that nuclear weapons should be abolished worldwide. Some of the main

Like so many other things in our daily lives, nuclear weapons can appear in terms of good and bad. Nuclear weapons are the most powerful and deadliest tools that has ever invented in the world. Since the use of the nuclear weapons in Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the world became aware of the power that these weapons possess. There is a total of 16,000 nuclear warheads all over the world. As of 2015, more than 90% of the nuclear warheads belong to United States and Russia. More than 7,000 belong to the United States, 7,700 in Russia, 300 in France, 250 in China, 225 in United Kingdom, 110 in Pakistan, 100 in India, 80 in Israel, and 10 in North Korea (Http://greengarageblog.org/author/greengarageblogadmin).

Nuclear weapons are the most dangerous weapons on earth. One can demolish a whole city, potentially killing millions, and exposed the natural environment and lives of future generations through its long-term catastrophic effects. According to the UNODA- United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (2011), “Although nuclear weapons have only been used twice in warfare- in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945-about 22,000 reportedly remains in our world today and there have been over 2,000 nuclear tests conducted to date.” Nuclear weapons have been viewed as a threat to peace by world leaders. There have been debates of whether to let Iran and North Korea acquire nuclear weapons, leaders all around the world along with Liberals believe that it is a threat to peace and should limit the spread whereas neo realist have another belief that nuclear weapon can make the world a peaceful place. Because states would fear to attack each other. For example the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 and cold war- there were only threats and war did not happen because of nuclear deterrence. The Cuban missile crisis has frequently been portrayed as the only time where the world stood in the point of nuclear war between the superpowers. This is an example of how nuclear weapons were used to threaten the rival. Another examples would be that of India and Pakistan before they acquire nuclear weapon , they fought three bloody wars after having their independence but since 1998, after acquiring

The Cold War is over and some people believe that we do not need nuclear deterrence anymore. The U.S.S.R has fallen and Russia poses little threat to launch a nuclear attack on the United States. Because of this, Russia and the United States have begun disarming their nuclear weapons. The United States has reduced its nuclear stockpile of warheads from 31,265 in 1965 to about 10,455 in 2002, enough to use for deterrence ("Table of . . . "). This disarming agreement is only between these two countries and they will continue to keep a minimum number of these nuclear warheads to deter other countries. They realize that they are not a threat to each other,