Rethinking Nuclear Weapons: A Call for Disarmament
Dec 26, 2024
Opinion: Nuclear Weapons Are Not a Fact of Life
Introduction
Author: Beatrice Fihn, director of Lex International Fund, former executive director of ICAN (Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons).
Context: Increasing nuclear threats globally (Russia, USA, China) and escalating tensions among nuclear-armed states.
Main Argument
Nuclear weapons are not an inevitable part of human existence; they can be abolished with efforts from ordinary people.
Historical Precedents
Chemical Weapons:
US and Russia once possessed over 70,000 tons of chemical weapons.
By July 7, 2023, the US announced the destruction of its chemical weapon stockpiles, aligning with the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention.
Russia completed its destruction earlier.
Violations (e.g., Syria 2018) lead to international condemnation without strategic benefit.
Inefficiency of Nuclear Weapons
Military Utility:
Nuclear weapons are inefficient, clumsy, costly, and lack practical utility.
Use would cause catastrophic destruction, civilian casualties, and cross-border radioactive spread.
Nations acknowledge they should never be used.
Deterrence:
Their power is psychological, based on deterrence rather than practical military use.
Deterrence is only effective as long as adversaries perceive it as such, making it a vulnerable strategy.
Conclusion
The essay argues for rethinking nuclear weapons not as tools of power but as dangerous liabilities.
Calls for action at both governmental and civilian levels to push for nuclear disarmament.