Nuclear Weapons and International Relations

Abstract

This special issue explores the impact of nuclear weapons on international relations. This problem is particularly important because several changes are underway that may alter our understanding of nuclear weapons and how they might shape and be shaped by international relations. What is the situation surrounding nuclear weapons today and have the changes increased or decreased the likelihood of war?

The changes we observe are threefold. First is the proliferation of nuclear weapons. We are now in what some call the “second nuclear age.” There has been an emergence of new and potential nuclear powers, such as India, Pakistan, North Korea and Iran. Second, we see the development of lower yield nuclear weapons. Third, there is a growing and strong support in the world community for the ban on nuclear weapons.

Then, what are the impact of these changes? And how will we be able to reach the answers? I offer several hypotheses about nuclear weapons and war. How does the acquisition of nuclear weapons change the behavior of the state that has acquired them? Secondly, will smaller nuclear weapons decrease or increase the chances of war? What are the arguments in favor of and against lower yield nuclear weapons? And thirdly, how do norms help deter the first use of nuclear weapons?

The articles in this issue share this understanding of these changes and seek to offer insights into overcoming the problems. They analyze the current situation and seek to find answers from past cases of success and failure. Several articles focus on the future of nuclear disarmament and arms control. They seek to identify causes for success from past agreements and analyze possible problems in the future. One article tests competing hypotheses on nuclear stability and bipolar stability and finds that nuclear hypothesis offers a stronger explanation. Still another looks at the strength of norms on nuclear weapons. Others explore the policies of Russia, Japan and the United States.