Security and Nuclear Issues After the Second World War
Chapter – 8
Table of Contents
- Nuclear technology for warfare was unknown before World War II; the devastating effects became evident with the use of hydrogen bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
- Nuclear weapons were more destructive than conventional weapons, giving nations with nuclear capabilities a significant advantage in national security and international importance.
- The United States (US) was the first to acquire and use nuclear weapons, followed by the Soviet Union in 1949.
- A global nuclear arms race ensued, posing a serious challenge to international peace and security after World War II.
- The Cold War between the two superpowers, armed with nuclear weapons, created constant threats of a nuclear war, endangering the peaceful world envisioned by the United Nations (UN).
- The advent of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including nuclear, radiological, chemical, and biological weapons, led to a new era of security crises.
- The post–World War II international order faced unprecedented challenges due to WMDs, prompting efforts to address the new threat to global security.
- The Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime (NPR) was one of the first major attempts to eliminate WMDs after the war.
- After the Hiroshima and Nagasaki tragedies, some nations advocated for preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.
- In 1946, the US proposed the Baruch Plan, calling for international control over all nuclear weapons, but the Soviet Union rejected it.
- In 1953, US President Eisenhower proposed the ‘atoms for peace’ plan, reflecting ideas from the Baruch Plan.
- In 1957, following the Eisenhower proposal, the Atoms for Peace Treaty (APT) came into force, with the Soviet Union signing the agreement.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was created in 1957 under the APT to monitor nuclear energy use.
- The IAEA, an autonomous body affiliated with the UN, was tasked with ensuring nuclear materials used for energy were not diverted to military purposes.
- The Baruch Plan, the Atoms for Peace Treaty, and the creation of the IAEA marked the beginning of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime.
THE NUCLEAR NONPROLIFERATION TREATY
- After the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) was signed in 1963 in Moscow, banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, underwater, and in space.
- US, Soviet Union, and Britain signed the PTBT, but France and China did not, reducing its effectiveness.
- The quest for global disarmament continued under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime (NPR) with efforts from the US and Soviet Union.
- After China’s nuclear explosion in 1964, both superpowers favoured stringent nonproliferation norms.
- Lyndon Johnson (US President), Nikita Khrushchev (Soviet leader), and other leaders, including Frank Eiken(Foreign Minister of Ireland), worked on a treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
- The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) was proposed, opened for signature in 1968, and entered into force in March 1970.
- Ireland and Finland were the first to sign the NPT, while India, Pakistan, and Israel declined to sign. North Koreasigned but withdrew in 2003.
- The NPT is a multilateral treaty with 189 signatories, and it was initially conceived for 25 years with a review every five years.
- The NPT was extended indefinitely in 1995 at the Fifth Review Conference in New York City.
- The three major pillars of the NPT are: (1) nonproliferation, (2) disarmament, and (3) the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy.
- The treaty included provisions to achieve these objectives, with five declared nuclear-weapon states in 1970: the US, Soviet Union, Britain, China, and France.
- These five were recognized as Nuclear Weapons States (NWS), while other signatories were termed non-nuclear-weapon states.
- After the Soviet Union’s disintegration, the Russian Federation became the sole successor as a NWS.