1. From Alamogordo to Reliable Replacement Warheads
- Author:
- Leo A. Grünfeld and Francesca Sanna-Randaccio
- Publication Date:
- 12-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The paper discusses three important legacies that the first nuclear age, that of the Cold War, left behind: (1) the recurrent attempts at threat inflation and the corresponding politics of fear; (2) enormous stocks of poorly protected weapons and fissile materials; and (3) a vision of a world free of nuclear weapons. It goes on to explain the characteristics of the second nuclear age, a notion that Paul Bracken introduced after the testing in South Asia in 1998. Finally, it discusses two basic conditions for the international non-proliferation regime to function effectively: leadership and compatibility with the distribution of power in the international system. The latter is primarily about the rise of Asia in international affairs.
- Topic:
- International Cooperation and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- United States and Asia