Does Nuclear Deterrence Work In Preventing Conflict Politics Essay

Does Nuclear Deterrence Work In Preventing Conflict Politics Essay In the post world war II era there have been fewer wars (and no third world war since the second world war took place just 20 years after the first), today countries engage in dialogues in order to solve problems rather than blindly declaring war against each other. After the explosion of the first nuclear bomb by the US on Japan in Nagasaki and Hiroshima the world saw the destruction the bomb caused killing over 200,000 people in the two cities and the people who were affected by the bomb died because of radiation and the future generations were deformed at birth. The explosion of the bomb scared the world of the consequences of the bomb, no one not even the pilot of the plane carrying the bomb had any idea what would happen once he drops the bomb. He later wrote a book about the time during WWII, when the bombs exploded and he regretted the fact that he carried out the operation. The Nuclear deterrence theory is when a country which possesses a nuclear arsenal threatens its enemy nation (also a nuclear armed country) that it will retaliate if attacked. This theory is a strategy which is used to avoid armed conflicts between the countries. Examples of this is during the cold war (when this strategy was first adopted on a nuclear level) both the United States and the USSR used this strategy however this never resulted in the use of nuclear weapons. Another (recent) example of this is India and Pakistan (in 2001 the President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf had threatened India that it could use its nuclear weapons in case India attacks Pakistan) these countries use this strategy against one another . but both countries have never engaged in a nuclear war against one another. The total number of countries with nuclear weapons has increased to 7 the United States, Britain, Russia, China, France, India , Pakistan. However Israel has neither accepted nor denied the fact that they possess nuclear weapons although many analysts believe that they do. After 1945 the nuclear bomb has never been used again against a country. China built its nuclear arsenal in order to become a regional power and India built its weapon in order to threaten its enemy Pakistan. Pakistan also built its weapon in its defence, fearing a possible nuclear attack from the neighbouring India. It has been claimed that Israel has built a nuclear arsenal in order to defeat the threat of the Arab nations like Iran and Egypt whose President Nasser had threatened to attack the country at that time. Ever since the countries have built their weapons, there has been no serious war since each nuclear armed country fears that if they attack the enemy country, they will also suffer so, to some extent the possession of nuclear weapons has prevented a major war against the countries. However there has been nuclear standoffs between countries like India and Pakistan in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It is also said that both the countries had detonated their nuclear missil es ready to be fired. Today people also fear that the nuclear weapons may fall into the wrong hands example terrorist groups that could use the weapons for their personal gain and bomb their enemy countries this could lead to a conventional nuclear war that could harm the countries and lead to the deaths of millions or even billions of people. Israel has a reason to build a nuclear weapon since it is surrounded by enemy territory. Ever since the neighbouring countries have become aware of the fact that Israel has become a nuclear power, there has been no major or direct war by countries like Egypt and iran who always threaten to attack Israel. Also during the cold war period, there was no direct war against the USSR and the usa except for the mujahedeen war during the late 1970s to the 1980s. Even then the USSR refrained from using their nuclear weapons against Pakistan and the usa fearing retaliation from the USA. These are instances that have proved that nuclear deterrence has prevented nuclear conflict against countries. . This theory encourages proliferation since once a country possesses a nuclear weapon, they will always try and improve their weapons(in order to feel safe) and make duplicates, examples of this is both Pakistan and India who have conducted multiple tests of their missiles trying to improve their current models. Also countries like the US and Russia build missiles that could counter nuclear attacks. I fear for the future of the world today, the 6 billion people living on this earth today, if countries shed their nuclear weapons then the world will be a safe place again. I fear that this is not going to happen I fear that if a third world war breaks out, it will lead to the destruction of our planet resulting in over a billion deaths and the future generations of those affected to be deformed due to the radiation( all it needs is a spark that can be caused by an accidental activation of the nuclear weapon by a particular country and the country affected would retaliate leading to a nuclear war or if the leader of a nation possessing the weapon makes an irrational move by attacking its enemy would also lead to a nuclear war ). It could take us back to the Stone Age and destroy our civilization the reason being, over a thousand nuclear missiles would be detonated all around the world leading to destruction of land, loss of human life. Also the long term effects could also be deadly resulting in a change of the climate because of hyper global warming, food shortage due to destruction to agricultural land causing it to be infertile in fact poisonous. Therefore what needs to be done is that all the nuclear armed countries should decide before it is too late and regret like Albert Einstein ( who encouraged the then American President Roosevelt to develop the atomic bomb before Germany succeeds in creating the atomic bomb) the consequences of the nuclear bomb, therefore all the countries should take this problem seriously and should avoid ignoring it by eliminating and dismantling all their nuclear weapons and make the world a nuclear free , a safe world once again!