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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Weapons & equipment > Nuclear weapons
Victor D. Cha and David C. Kang's Nuclear North Korea was first
published in 2003 amid the outbreak of a lasting crisis over the
North Korean nuclear program. It promptly became a landmark of an
ongoing debate in academic and policy circles about whether to
engage or contain North Korea. Fifteen years later, as North Korea
tests intercontinental ballistic missiles and the U.S. president
angrily refers to Kim Jong-un as "Rocket Man," Nuclear North Korea
remains an essential guide to the difficult choices we face. Coming
from different perspectives-Kang believes the threat posed by
Pyongyang has been inflated and endorses a more open approach,
while Cha is more skeptical and advocates harsher measures, though
both believe that some form of engagement is necessary-the authors
together present authoritative analysis of one of the world's
thorniest challenges. They refute a number of misconceptions and
challenge the faulty thinking that surrounds the discussion of
North Korea, particularly the idea that North Korea is an
irrational actor. Cha and Kang look at the implications of a
nuclear North Korea, assess recent and current approaches to
sanctions and engagement, and provide a functional framework for
constructive policy. With a new chapter on the way forward for the
international community in light of continued nuclear tensions,
this book is of lasting relevance to understanding the state of
affairs on the Korean peninsula.
The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) has been the principal
legal barrier to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons for the past
forty-five years. It promotes the peaceful uses of nuclear
technology and insures, through the application of safeguards
inspections conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), that those technologies are not being diverted toward the
production of nuclear weapons. It is also the only multinational
treaty that obligates the five nuclear weapons states that are
party to the treaty (China, France, Great Britain, Russia, and the
United States) to pursue nuclear disarmament measures.Though there
have been many challenges over the years, most would agree that the
treaty has largely been successful. However, many are concerned
about the continued viability of the NPT. The perceived slow pace
of nuclear disarmament, the interest by some countries to consider
a weapons program while party to the treaty, and the funding and
staffing issues at the IAEA, are all putting considerable strain on
the treaty. This manuscript explores those issues and offers some
possible solutions to ensure that the NPT will survive effectively
for many years to come.
During the Cold War, the United States conducted atmospheric tests
of nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands of the Pacific. The
total explosive yield of these tests was 108 megatons, equivalent
to the detonation of one Hiroshima bomb per day over nineteen
years. These tests, particularly Castle Bravo, the largest one, had
tragic consequences, including the irradiation of innocent people
and the permanent displacement of many native Marshallese. Keith M.
Parsons and Robert Zaballa tell the story of the development and
testing of thermonuclear weapons and the effects of these tests on
their victims and on the popular and intellectual culture. These
events are also situated in their Cold War context and explained in
terms of the prevailing hopes, fears, and beliefs of that age. In
particular, the narrative highlights the obsessions and priorities
of top American officials, such as Lewis L. Strauss, Chairman of
the Atomic Energy Commission.
A new approach to nuclear disarmament, nonproliferation, and the
prevention of nuclear terrorism that focuses on controlling the
production and stockpiling of nuclear materials. Achieving nuclear
disarmament, stopping nuclear proliferation, and preventing nuclear
terrorism are among the most critical challenges facing the world
today. Unmaking the Bomb proposes a new approach to reaching these
long-held goals. Rather than considering them as separate issues,
the authors-physicists and experts on nuclear security-argue that
all three of these goals can be understood and realized together if
we focus on the production, stockpiling, and disposal of plutonium
and highly enriched uranium-the fissile materials that are the key
ingredients used to make nuclear weapons. The authors describe the
history, production, national stockpiles, and current military and
civilian uses of plutonium and highly enriched uranium, and propose
policies aimed at reducing and eventually eliminating these fissile
materials worldwide. These include an end to the production of
highly enriched uranium and plutonium for weapons, an end to their
use as reactor fuels, and the verified elimination of all national
stockpiles.
Nuclear Reactions explores the nuclear consensus that emerged in
post-World War II America, characterized by widespread support for
a diplomatic and military strategy based on nuclear weapons and a
vision of economic growth that welcomed nuclear energy both for the
generation of electricity and for other peaceful and industrial
uses. Unease about the environmental consequences of nuclear energy
and weapons development became apparent by the early 1960s and led
to the first challenges to that consensus. The documents in this
collection address issues such as the arms race, "mutually assured
destruction," the emergence of ecosystems ecology and the
environmental movement, nuclear protests, and climate change. They
raise questions about how nuclear energy shaped-and continues to
shape-the contours of postwar American life. These questions
provide a useful lens through which to understand the social,
economic, and environmental tradeoffs embedded within American
choices about the use and management of nuclear energy.
While the world's attention is focused on the nuclearization of
North Korea and Iran and the nuclear brinkmanship between India and
Pakistan, China is believed to have doubled the size of its nuclear
arsenal, making it "the forgotten nuclear power," as described in
Foreign Affairs. Susan Turner Haynes analyzes China's buildup and
its diversification of increasingly mobile, precise, and
sophisticated nuclear weapons. Haynes provides context and clarity
to this complex global issue through an analysis of extensive
primary source research and lends insight into questions of why
China, is the only nuclear-weapon state recognized under the
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty that continues to pursue
qualitative and quantitative advancements to its nuclear force. As
the gap between China's nuclear force and the forces of the nuclear
superpowers narrows against the expressed interest of many nuclear
as well as non-nuclear states, Chinese Nuclear Proliferation offers
policy prescriptions to curtail China's nuclear growth and to
assuage fears that the "American World Order" presents a direct
threat to China's national security. Presenting technical concepts
with minimal jargon, in a straightforward style, this book will be
of use to casual China watchers and military experts alike.
Four decades have passed since India conducted its first nuclear
test. Since then the world has undergone a transition, both in
terms of power dynamics and military warfare. The emergence of New
Nuclear and Threshold states has transformed the traditional
military warfare, making it more asymmetric. Though the concept of
nuclear deterrence in the American strategic thought has
diminished, but the Asian countries still consider nuclear weapons
as an important strategy in combating conventional weaknesses. This
altered strategic space has created problems in the civilian and
the military domains. The emergence of economically strong China
aiming for military modernization, to achieve global reach through
precision missiles, is making Asia edgy. A nuclear Pakistan which
is constantly increasing its nuclear stockpile is creating
stability-instability paradoxes in Asia. India which is also
emerging as a powerful state needs to approach this dynamic shift
in a holistic manner. A strategic churning has begun in Asia and
whether this will be in India's favour depends on the strategic
choices that India adopts.China has revolutionized its Second
Artillery through a process of "Informationalisation and
Modernisation" and is diversifying the military technology which is
having a cascading effect in Asia. Pakistan through its nuclear
policy of "First Use", its alleged use of "Tactical Nuclear
Weapons" is making South Asia vulnerable to nuclear terrorism.
Under such conditions are there any gaps between India's nuclear
doctrine and its force structure? Can India's nuclear strategy
counter China? Is India capable of countering a Sino-Pak nexus?
These are a few questions along with others which this book will
try to unravel.
Strategy in the Missile Age first reviews the development of modern
military strategy to World War II, giving the reader a reference
point for the radical rethinking that follows, as Dr. Brodie
considers the problems of the Strategic Air Command, of civil
defense, of limited war, of counterforce or pre-emptive strategies,
of city-busting, of missile bases in Europe, and so on. The book,
unlike so many on modern military affairs, does not present a
program or defend a policy, nor is it a brief for any one of the
armed services. It is a balanced analysis of the requirements of
strength for the 1960's, including especially the military posture
necessary to prevent war. A unique feature is the discussion of the
problem of the cost of preparedness in relation to the requirements
of the national economy, so often neglected by other military
thinkers. Originally published in 1959. The Princeton Legacy
Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make
available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished
backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the
original texts of these important books while presenting them in
durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton
Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly
heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton
University Press since its founding in 1905.
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