Nuclear-free World Research Articles

일본 기시다 정부의 핵정책

In order to realize a nuclear-free world, the Kishida government plans to lead discussions on disarmament and non-proliferation in the international community, while further strengthening the existing extended deterrence by the United States in response to the rapid increase in nuclear power in East Asia. This is based on the perception that in the long run, we will actively strive to realize a nuclear-free world through disarmament and non-proliferation, but in reality, we have no choice but to rely on the U.S. nuclear umbrella in a situation where nuclear weapons exist. However, the Kishida government is facing a dilemma of simultaneously realizing a nuclear-free world and a nuclear deterrent as it fails to provide a detailed roadmap for nuclear disarmament and faces domestic criticism that the extended deterrence policy does not reflect a serious security reality. Considering that China and North Korea's nuclear forces continue to increase in the future, the nuclear dilemma facing Japan is expected to become even more serious. If discussions on the establishment of a nuclear deterrence strategy in the post-Kishida government begin in earnest, the main issues will be the revision of the principle of the prohibition of nuclear importation among the three non-nuclear principles, the activation of extended deterrence consultations with the United States, and the search for a Japanese version of nuclear sharing.

Regional Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation: A Case of CANWFZ Treaty

Nuclear weapons are highly potent and devastating instruments found in the military stockpiles of contemporary nations. The immense magnitude and pace of devastation that nuclear weapons may cause, coupled with the relative ease with which governments can acquire these offensive capabilities and the inability to effectively defend against a nuclear assault, render nuclear weapons highly valuable. Against this true but bitter reality of the present world order, the author posits that creating nuclear-weapon-free zones (NWFZ) on a regional scale can serve as a beacon of hope and a significant catalyst in the global effort to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world. To further analyse this idea, the author explores NWFZ and their relevance to regional denuclearization by focusing on the Central Asian nuclear-weapon-free zone (CANWFZ) treaty. The article is divided into four sections. The first section includes a review of contemporary literature about disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. The second section examines the development of the CANWFZ and its commitment to the objectives of disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. The third section involves assessing the barriers to this regional cooperation that impede its full implementation. Section four explores the potential reformative strategies that can improve the effectiveness of CANWFZ and elevate it to a model for other regional groupings in achieving a nuclear-free world.

Hiroshima’s ongoing peacebuilding and beyond: how does this local initiative seek to extend to world peace?

War-torn or post-conflict countries face challenging, complex, and varied tasks related to security, development, and justice to meet the immediate needs of state-building and peacebuilding. Hiroshima, having overcome post-war reconstruction, has remained in the peacebuilding phase by advocating world peace through the value of ‘No more Hiroshimas’. Peacebuilding studies and mainstream debates emphasising the local perspective have not, however, touched upon this historical moment, when the Hiroshima Prefectural Government enacted ‘Hiroshima for Global Peace’, pursuing peacebuilding through a nuclear-free world. In this context, this article analyses how Hiroshima’s provincial government policy demonstrates ongoing peacebuilding in pursuit of world peace. Considering local-global relations, it examines how local policy connects the shared values of a nuclear-free world. Second, it shows how local-state relations highlight Japan’s peacebuilding policy, which includes security cooperation, by sharing the vision of Hiroshima as a symbol of world peace.

Activities of Kazakhstan on general disarmament

The whole world knows that with the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, Kazakhstan was the first in the world to refuse nuclear weapons. By its unprecedented decision, which has no analogs in the world, the Republic of Kazakhstan has earned the moral right to demand the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons throughout the world and call upon the states that are members of the nuclear club to make the same decision. The article presents the results of deep scientific research of literature and scientific articles on the activities of Kazakhstan in the field of general disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, which made it possible to present an overall picture of the current state of the problem. The ban on nuclear weapons testing has become global. During 30 years of struggle for a nuclear-free world, Kazakhstan has been doing a lot of work on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons throughout the world. The following initiatives allow all countries, regardless of their political, economic, and military capabilities, to participate in the discussion and resolution of the critical issues involved in abandoning nuclear weapons and developing projects for the peaceful use of atomic energy. The materials of this article can be used for further scientific research of Kazakhstan's position on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, as well as for conducting classes with students and cadets on the disciplines "Modern History of Kazakhstan" and "Political Science".

Intelligence and alliance politics: America, Britain, and the strategic defense initiative

ABSTRACT In March 1983, President Ronald Reagan called upon American scientists to develop a capability to render nuclear weapons “impotent and obsolete.” The president’s speech led to the creation of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), an effort to develop a missile defense system with interceptors on land and in space that Reagan hoped would lead to a nuclear-free world. SDI quickly became a contentious subject in American-Soviet relations and among the transatlantic allies. Even though she rejected Reagan’s ultimate goal for SDI, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher decided to have the United Kingdom become formally involved in SDI research and development. This article investigates the role of intelligence in shaping U.S. and British policy on SDI. It further explores how SDI impacted Anglo-American intelligence cooperation.

THE ROLE OF NUCLEAR DETERRENCE POLICY AT THE PRESENT STAGE

After the Cold War ended, a revision of nuclear weapons began in the context of international security. The world was divided in opinions. Some scientists argued that there were still reasons justifying the existence of nuclear arsenals, while others supported the idea of a nuclear-free world. Today, more than twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, discussions on this issue are still ongoing. The purpose of this article is to show how nuclear deterrence has developed, how it works today, and why it is still an important part of the national strategies of key international actors.

Outlines of Strategic Stability in Global Multipolar Competition

The article is devoted to the problems of ensuring strategic stability and the task of a comprehensive study of the current situation with strategic stability, developing new approaches to it, taking into account modern realities in the context of a crisis in the international situation, especially in relations between Russia and NATO, Russia and the United States. According to President Vladimir Putin, as a result, the system of strategic stability in the world continues to degrade. The main factors of this aggravation are analyzed. The task is to develop new foundations for strategic stability and assess its global parameters. The new concept of strategic stability can no longer be focused solely on the priority of preventing nuclear conflict between major nuclear powers, but must also take into account the totality of factors that determine the security situation in the realities of the modern world order. An analysis of the long-overdue systemic shift in world processes is arguably impossible without a fundamental re-evaluation of the entire perception of international security, and, above all, the concept of strategic stability, which is the theoretical basis of military policy and theoretical approaches to arms control. Academic community needs to develop a fundamentally innovative strategy for arms control in the new environment. Whether this will be a bilateral Russian-American format or a multilateral arrangement is a question that needs to be clarified in the course of diplomatic consultations. The required concept should obviously be both interdisciplinary (covering with various methodological tools a number of sciences such issues as strategic nuclear weapons, non-strategic nuclear systems, missile defense, "prompt global conventional strike", hypersonic, cyberwarfare, space, beam, drones and other "exotic" types of weapons), and multilateral (that is, it should take into account the nuclear forces and nuclear potential of "third" countries, and not just the two traditional rivals – Russia and the United States).Such a concept of strategic stability should thus be much more "holistic" and comprehensive, covering not only the military potential of the leading powers, but also taking into account their political relations and divergences, the imperative of providing restraint and preventing major conflicts in the modern world. As such, it involves a comprehensive study of the crisis realities in the international system, primarily in the Russia–NATO and Russia–US “dyads” interrelationship against the background of the emergence of new nuclear weapons stakeholders. Among other things, these factors in the global balance of power make it impossible to proceed to a nuclear-free world in the foreseeable future. In this regard, the author sets the task for the expert community to formulate certain concrete ways to implement new conceptual frameworks for assessing the global parameters of the world system's evolution, and to develop pragmatic initiatives that can be taken to improve overall stability and interaction between the United States, NATO, Russia, and other emerging global actors.

No-First-Use Policy and a Credible Nuclear Umbrella: Paradox or Possibility?

The article examines the dilemma between the no-first-use policy and providing a credible extended deterrence to US non-nuclear allies. It traces the previous administration's effort towards a nuclear free world and briefly discusses two East Asian allies' reactions to such a policy. The article points out the difficulties of achieving two conflicting goals and suggests two policies that would need to be in place before the next administration proposes the no-first-use policy: communicating comprehensive conventional crisis response scenarios to allies and continuing engagement with North Korea. While these two recommendations might be difficult to attain at this point in time, without these, any no-first-use policy proposed by the new administration would fall into the same traps as previous attempts to implement no-first-use, and ultimately, be short-lived.

Why youth and feminist activism matters: insights from anti-nuclear campaigns in practice

ABSTRACTThe year 2017 will go down in history as a key turning point in anti-nuclear activism. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to ICAN and a ban treaty was adopted by an overwhelming majority of the world’s nations. For young people, never before has there been such momentum for a nuclear-free world. Excited by this progress and wanting to build further momentum, this brief piece provides insights about the importance of feminist analysis and the role that young people are playing by providing a snapshot of anti-nuclear campaigns. By drawing on the perspectives of several young activists, it argues for, and details why the perspectives of young people are significant, and outlines various strengths and strategies of engaging youth, along with complexities and challenges. Overall, this piece provides a timely analysis of the powerful role that young people can play in anti-nuclear activism.

Stigmatizing and Delegitimizing Nuclear Weapons

ABSTRACTThe Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was opened for signature on 20 September 2017, the purpose of which is said to be the stigmatization of nuclear weapons. How does one stigmatize nuclear weapons when nuclear-weapon states and states under the nuclear umbrella are strongly opposed to this Treaty? In this article, the significance of the Treaty is clarified by studying the background and by showing the stigmatization of nuclear weapons as one of the main purposes of the Treaty. The concept of the stigmatization of nuclear weapons is being compared to the delegitimization thereof. This article argues that the common purpose of both approaches is to have a world without nuclear weapons, although their reasons, means, and perceptions of security differ. The two approaches can complement each other to achieve a nuclear-free world. The stakeholders are accordingly recommended to pursue each approach simultaneously so that the proposals of both complement each other in their quest for a world without nuclear weapons.

Еstablishing the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Is a Step Towards Global Nuclear Security

The article is devoted to an actual problem of guaranteeing global security and promoting an idea of nuclear-free world. The article provides some data on the history of establishing, the key stages of formation and consolidation of international legal agreements of the Central Asian nuclear-weapon-free zone. The author considers peculiarities and distinguishing features of a nuclear-free zone in Central Asia.

Toward a Nuclear‐Free World

Toward a Nuclear‐Free World

Toward a "Theology for a Nuclear-Free World": Beyond Gordon D. Kaufman's "Theology for a Nuclear Age"

Toward a "Theology for a Nuclear-Free World": Beyond Gordon D. Kaufman's "Theology for a Nuclear Age"

Energy efficiency: the pathway toward a nuclear-free world

Continuous growth of electricity consumption, in particular in the domestic sector, which is the second largest energy consuming sector after industry, requires more energy on the generation side. Since energy extracted from installed nuclear power plants are jeopardizing the health and life of people, extracting energy from safe and clean renewable energy sources should be pursued more than before. On the other hand according to the EU directive on energy efficiency, member states should reduce their energy consumption and increase the share of renewable resources by 20% till 2020. In order to be able to cover the electricity demand through renewable energies, the application of efficiency measures is crucial. In this paper the energy saving potential in the private sector is investigated. Replacing old appliances by newest high efficient types, reducing the number of extra appliances and using passive house technology will save the world about 3000TWh per year.

The legacy of Reykjavik and the future of nuclear disarmament

Twenty-five years ago in Reykjavik, Iceland, US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev walked to the threshold of a nuclear-free world—and then turned back. Reykjavik has since become synonymous with the unforeseen and anticlimactic in nuclear diplomacy. Another feature of Reykjavik’s legacy is less well-understood—its constructiveness. The authors contend that nuclear disarmament should serve as the public keystone of US efforts to reduce nuclear threats across the board and compare and contrast the geopolitical and diplomatic contexts of 1986 with today. The authors identify three historical parallels—fiscal pressures, nuclear accidents, and missile defense; and they identify three discontinuities—a transition from global bipolarity to multipolarity, a shift in US priorities from arms cuts to nonproliferation, and weakening support for international law in US domestic politics. From this comparative analysis, the authors deem Reykjavik to have imparted three core lessons: Disarmament agreements are achievable if the right conditions exist. Even if unrealized, good-faith disarmament efforts provide the diplomatic framework and global credibility needed for nuclear diplomacy to succeed. And Reykjavik’s successes and shortfalls testify to the crucial importance of leadership in making progress on the entangled matters of nuclear nonproliferation, arms control, and disarmament.

Exploring rhetoric of public diplomacy in the mixed-motive situation: Using the case of President Obama's ‘nuclear-free world’ speech in Prague

Within the theoretical framework of the mixed-motive model of public relations, this case study of President Obama's speech in Prague, calling for ‘a world without nuclear weapons’, analyzes the dynamics of rhetoric of public diplomacy in the mixed-motive situation. The analysis shows that the speech presented a two-way symmetrical worldview. At the same time, it made asymmetrical advocacy by stressing the US leadership, continuing the containment theme and justifying the continued possession of the nuclear arsenals by the United States, corroborating the mixed-motive model's assumption of divided loyalty. To reduce the tensions caused by such mixed motives, the speech presented a constructivist worldview that emphasized on the power of ideas, morality, norms and the possibility of change. Its emphasis on the long-term nature of the cause echoed Grunig's (2001) argument that in the mixed-motive model asymmetrical tactics may be used within the win-win zone because such practices are bounded by a symmetrical worldview that ‘respects long-term relationships’. In the speech, President Obama mostly relied on ethos to make his call credible. Pathos is the second major rhetorical strategy by appealing to fear and shame. The least used appeal is logos. The varied weight of the appeals revealed potential rhetorical strategies in a mixed-motive situation. The findings of the research confirm Gilboa's (2008) argument that application of the constructivism approach to public diplomacy may produce fresh insights. This research contributes to the research in the Excellence Theory and public diplomacy.

SALVAGING GLOBAL ZERO

A year ago Barack Obama proffered a vision of a nuclear-free world. But as Iran moves closer to acquiring nuclear weapon technology, the existing nuclear order appears to be unravelling. Joachim Krause and Benjamin Schreer argue that, despite a convincing vision, both the US administration's new bilateral agreement with Russia and its own Nuclear Posture Review are too conservative in their attempts to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in strategic decision-making. It is Europe that must step up to play a mediatory role in ensuring Global Zero is an attainable goal.

The Illogic of Zero

Throughout 2009, proponents of the abolition of nuclear weapons were unlucky. Almost each time they tried to make their case on the international scene, the real world came to haunt them. On April ...

The Realist Case Against Nuclear Disarmament

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes 1. Strobe Talbot, The Master of the Game: Paul Nitze and the Nuclear Peace, Vintage, New York, 1989, pp. 71–72. 2. See, for example, the response by Richard Haass to General Lee Butler and others in Richard Haass, ‘It's Dangerous to Disarm’, The New York Times, December 11, 1996, p. A-27. 3. Kenneth N. Waltz, The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: More May Be Better, Adelphi Paper No. 171, International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, 1981. 4. George P. Schultz, William J. Perry, Henry A. Kissinger, Sam Nunn, ‘Towards Nuclear-Free World’, The Wall Street Journal, January 15, 2008, p. A-13, at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120036422673589947.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries (Accessed December 4, 2009). 5. Stephen G. Rademaker, ‘US Compliance with Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)’, at http://www.nti.org/e_research/official_docs/dos/dos020305.pdf (Accessed December 4, 2009). 6. Jeffrey W. Legro, Andrew Moravcsik, ‘Is Anybody Still a Realist?’, International Security, 24(2), 1999, pp. 5–55. 7. That conflict is endemic between states and that all states pursue power are probably the elements all Realists hold in common. See also Rober Gilpin, ‘The Richness of the Tradition of Political Realism’, International Organization, 38(2), 1984, pp. 287–304. 8. Kenneth N. Waltz, Theory of International Politics, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1979. 9. John H. Herz, ‘Idealist Internationalism and the Security Dilemma’, World Politics, 2(2), 1950, pp. 157–180. 10. Kier A. Lieber, Gerard Alexander, ‘Waiting for Balancing: Why the World is Not Pushing Back’, International Security, 30(1), 2005, pp. 109–139. 11. Robert A. Pape, ‘Soft-Balancing Against the United States’, International Security, 30(1), 2005, pp. 7–45; T.V. Paul, ‘Soft Balancing in the Age of U.S. Primacy’, International Security, 30(1), 2005, pp. 46–71. 12. Hence, Mearsheimer's characterisation of European future in John J. Mearsheimer, ‘Back to the Future: Instability in Europe after the Cold War’, International Security, 15(1), 1990, pp. 5–56. Waltz first made the argument in Kenneth N. Waltz, ‘The Stability of a Bipolar World’, Daedalus, 99(3), 1964, pp. 881–909. 13. Mueller, however, argues that nuclear weapons had little to do with the ‘long peace’. See John Mueller, ‘The Essential Irrelevance of Nuclear Weapons: Stability in the Postwar World’, International Security, 13(2), 1988, pp. 55–79. 14. For an attempt at explaining such alliance behaviour, see Thomas J. Christensen, Jack Snyder, ‘Chained Gangs and Passed Bucks: Predicting Alliance Patterns in Multipolarity’, International Organization, 44(2), 1990, pp. 138–168. 15. Manpreet Sethi, ‘India and Universal Nuclear Disarmament: Rediscovering the Relationship’, in V.R. Raghavan (ed.), India and Global Nuclear Disarmament, Delhi Policy Group/Macmillan, New Delhi, 2010, pp. 22–24. 16. Mearsheimer, see no. 12.

China's Perspective on a Nuclear-Free World

A new wave of interest in the complete elimination of nuclear-weapons is washing over international security institutions. Although the goal of a nuclear weapons-free world is as old as the nuclear...