The inhumanity of nuclear deterrence

ABSTRACT

Nuclear deterrence is not just a dangerous concept on which to base national or international security. It is immoral, undemocratic, and contradictory to human interests, as expressed through common political, scientific, and religious belief systems.

KEYWORDS:

• Nuclear deterrence
• ethics
• nuclear weapons
• international law
• legal zero
• Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Funding

This research received no financial or administrative support from any agency or organization in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Funding

This research received no financial or administrative support from any agency or organization in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes

1. See: https://www.westfargopioneer.com/news/4350303-visit-minot-air-base-pence-says-administration-will-make-nuclear-deterrent-stronger.

2. http://www.icanw.org/the-treaty/ .

3. Brodie, Bernard (1959), ”The Anatomy of Deterrence” as found in Strategy in the Missile Age, Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp. 264–304.

4. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/26/opinion/trump-nuclear-arsenal.html?_r=0 .

5. https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2017/11/13/nuclear-disarmament-now-moral-imperative-pope-francis-rejects .

6. The Pope and the Bomb: “New Nuclear Dangers and Moral Dilemmas,” by Bishop Oscar Cantú, September 17, 2015. http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/war-and-peace/nuclear-weapons/presentation-the-pope-and-the-bomb-2015-09-17.cfm .

7. The author acknowledges Michael Krepon of the Stimson Center for this observation on the nature of deterrence.

8. Harpers Forum – Destroyer of Worlds: Taking stock of our nuclear present, December 2017. By Elaine Scarry, Eric Schlosser, Lydia Millet, Mohammed Hanif, Rachel Bronson and Theodore Postol. https://harpers.org/archive/2017/12/destroyer-of-worlds/3/.

9. http://www.icj-cij.org/en/case/95 .

10. http://www.newsweek.com/trump-nuclear-weapons-holocaust-congress-710653 .

11. https://fas.org/issues/nuclear-weapons/nuclear-posture-review/ .

12. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/14/world/asia/hawaii-false-alarm-north-korea-nuclear.html .

13. https://press.princeton.edu/titles/5301.html .

14. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/command-and-control/ .

15. See http://www.nti.org/about/projects/nuclear-security-project/ .

16. https://www.brookings.edu/the-hidden-costs-of-our-nuclear-arsenal-overview-of-project-findings/.

17. https://www.globalzero.org/get-the-facts/cost-of-nukes .

18. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ .

19. http://www.fciv.org/downloads/Holy%20See%20Contribution-Vienna-8-DEC-2014.pdf .

20. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/baruch-plans .

21. Hans Morgenthau in 1955 wrote an article entitled “Reflections on the State of Political Science.”

Additional information

Funding

This research received no financial or administrative support from any agency or organization in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

James E. Doyle

James E. Doyle is an independent nuclear security specialist and frequent contributor to the Bulletin. From 1997 to 2014 he was a technical staff member at Los Alamos National Laboratory.