The Nuclear Club: Ethics Of Nuclear Proliferation.

Essay by ivzivkovicUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, November 2005

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Nuclear fission has profoundly changed the way nations deal with each other in various international forums. With power, which may destroy the world several times over, the leaders of these select states are forced to acknowledge the fragility of peace. The myth of Mutual Assured Destruction has prevailed as the guiding logic in nuclear policies of numerous states. Proponents of this notion contend that nations are less likely to instigate war, conventional and nuclear, if the opposing state has the capability to strike with nuclear weapons and thus destroy the opponent and vice versa. Unfortunately this notion is not applicable in today's geopolitical system due to changes in types of principal actors present. Principal actors in international relations have always been states which have been recognized in the United Nations or by other states independently. The terrorist attacks on New York City in 2001 have forever changed our definition of what constitutes a principal actor in international relations.

Terrorist organizations and fundamental right wing groups are now posing a threat as big as nations in terms of nuclear power misuse. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has had difficulties in maintaining its presence due to disregard and weak resolution of signatory states, combined with structural changes in international relations these are precarious times in the eyes of the "West". The sole concerns of Western nations are the motives behind nations wish to obtain nuclear power. Some countries have a truly benign motive and some a more sinister one and it is simply the motive of states attempting to achieve nuclear power capability, that has the international community "raising its eyebrows".

Today there are 7 nuclear states (United States, United Kingdom, Russia, France, China, India and Pakistan) which declared themselves, in one way or another, having nuclear strike capabilities. According to the Uranium...