Nuclear Weapons and International Security: Collected Essays

263 Pages·2015·1.362 MB·English

by  Ramesh Thakur

Nuclear Weapons and
International Security
This volume brings together more than three decades of research and writings by
Professor Ramesh Thakur on the challenges posed by nuclear weapons.
F ollowing an introduction to the current nuclear state of play, the book
addresses the challenge of nuclear weapons in three parts. Part I describes the
scholar–practitioner interface in trying to come to grips with this challenge, the
main policy impact on security strategy, and the various future nuclear scenarios.
Part II addresses regional nuclear challenges from the South Pacific to East, South
and West Asia and thereby highlights serious deficiencies in the normative archi-
tecture of the nuclear arms control and disarmament regime. In the third and
final part, the chapters discuss regional nuclear-weapon-free zones, NPT anoma-
lies (and their implications for the future of the nuclear arms control regime) and,
finally, assess the global governance architecture of nuclear security in light of the
three Nuclear Security Summits between 2010 and 2014. The concluding chapter
argues for moving towards a world of progressively reduced nuclear weapons in
numbers, reduced salience of nuclear weapons in national security doctrines and
deployments, and, ultimately, a denuclearized world.
This book will be of much interest to students of nuclear proliferation, global
governance, international organizations, diplomacy and security studies.
Ramesh Thakur is Director of the Centre for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and
Disarmament in the Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National
University. A former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, he is the Editor-
in-Chief of Global Governance and the author/editor of 50 books and 400 journal
articles and book chapters, including, most recently, The Group of Twenty (G20)
(2013); Nuclear Weapons: The State of Play (2013); and The Oxford Handbook of Modern
Diplomacy (2013).
Routledge Global Security Studies
Series Editors: Aaron Karp and Regina Karp
Global Security Studies emphasizes broad forces reshaping global security and the
dilemmas facing decision-makers the world over. The series stresses issues relevant
in many countries and regions, accessible to broad professional and academic audi-
ences as well as to students, and enduring through explicit theoretical foundations.
Nuclear Proliferation and International Security
Edited by Morten Bremer Maerli and Sverre Lodgaard
Global Insurgency and the Future of Armed Conflict
Debating fourth-generation warfare
Terry Terriff, Aaron Karp and Regina Karp
Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Responding to the challenge
Edited by Ian Bellany
Globalization and WMD Proliferation
Terrorism, transnational networks, and international security
Edited by James A. Russell and Jim J. Wirtz
Power Shifts, Strategy, and War
Declining states and international conflict
Dong Sun Lee
Energy Security and Global Politics
The militarization of resource management
Edited by Daniel Moran and James A. Russell
US Nuclear Weapons Policy after the Cold War
Russians, ‘rogues’ and domestic division
Nick Ritchie
Security and Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Dealing with fighters in the aftermath of war
Edited Robert Muggah
Network Centric Warfare and Coalition Operations
The new military operating system
Paul T. Mitchell
American Foreign Policy and the Politics of Fear
Threat inflation since 9/11
Edited by A. Trevor Thrall and Jane K. Cramer
Risk, Global Governance and Security
The other war on terror
Yee-Kuang Heng and Kenneth McDonagh
Nuclear Weapons and Cooperative Security in the 21st Century
The new disorder
Stephen J. Cimbala
Political Economy and Grand Strategy
A neoclassical realist view
Mark R. Brawley
Iran and Nuclear Weapons
Protracted conflict and proliferation
Saira Khan
US Strategy in Africa
AFRICOM, terrorism and security challenges
Edited by David J. Francis
Great Powers and Strategic Stability in the 21st Century
Competing visions of world order
Edited by Graeme P. Herd
The Globalisation of NATO
Intervention, security and identity
Veronica M. Kitchen
International Conflict in the Asia-Pacific
Patterns, consequences and management
Jacob Bercovitch and Mikio Oishi
Nuclear Proliferation and International Order
Challenges to the Non-Proliferation Treaty
Edited by Olav Njølstad
Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
Towards a nuclear-weapon-free world?
Sverre Lodgaard
Nuclear Energy and Global Governance
Ensuring safety, security and non-proliferation
Trevor Findlay
Unipolarity and World Politics
A theory and its implications
Birthe Hansen
Disarmament Diplomacy and Human Security
Regimes, norms and moral progress in international relations
Denise Garcia
Causes and Consequences of Nuclear Proliferation
Edited by Robert Rauchhaus, Matthew Kroenig and Erik Gartzke
Why Did the United States Invade Iraq?
Edited by Jane K. Cramer and A. Trevor Thrall
Regional Powers and Security Orders
A theoretical framework
Edited by Robert Stewart-Ingersoll and Derrick Frazier
A Perpetual Menace
Nuclear weapons and international order
William Walker
Iran’s Nuclear Programme
Strategic implications
Joachim Krause
Arms Control and Missile Proliferation in the Middle East
Edited by Bernd Kubbig
The National Politics of Nuclear Power
Economics, security and governance
Benjamin Sovacool and Scott Valentine
Arms Controls in the 21st Century
Between coercion and cooperation
Edited by Oliver Meier and Christopher Daase
Reconceptualising Deterrence
Nudging toward rationality in Middle Eastern rivalries
Elli Lieberman
Psychology, Strategy and Conflict
Perceptions of insecurity in International Relations
Edited by James W. Davis
Nuclear Terrorism and Global Security
The challenge of phasing out highly enriched uranium
Edited by Alan J. Kuperman
Ballistic Missile Defence and US National Security Policy
Normalisation and acceptance after the Cold War
Andrew Futter
Economic Statecraft and Foreign Policy
Sanctions, incentives and target state calculations
Jean-Marc F. Blanchard and Norrin M. Ripsman
Technology Transfers and Non-Proliferation
Between control and cooperation
Edited by Oliver Meier
Northern Security and Global Politics
Nordic-Baltic strategic influence in a post-unipolar world
Edited by Ann-Sofie Dahl and Pauli Järvenpää
Geopolitics and Security in the Arctic
Regional developments in a global world
Edited by Rolf Tamnes and Kristine Offerdal
Precision Strike Warfare and International Intervention
Strategic, ethico-legal, and decisional implications
Edited by Mike Aaronson, Wali Aslam, Tom Dyson and Regina Rauxloh
Nuclear Proliferation and the Psychology of Political Leadership
Beliefs, motivations and perceptions
K. P. O’Reilly
Nuclear Weapons and International Security
Collected essays
Ramesh Thakur
‘Ramesh Thakur is the most comprehensive thinker on nuclear disarmament
active today. Nuanced and sensitive to the underlying security dilemmas and
political forces, his perspective elevates disarmament beyond familiar clichés,
placing it at the core of security policy. His work should be part of any discus-
sion of disarmament imperatives and prospects.’
– Aaron Karp, Old Dominion University
‘ Ramesh Thakur is one of the few internationally renowned authors who has
written on nuclear weapon issues in a coherent, consistent and cogent man-
ner so that the most complex issues are presented to both the academic and
the general reader objectively and lucidly . . . this is an indispensable volume
for students, diplomats and the general reader as a framework of reference on
one of most vital issue of our times.’
– Jayantha Dhanapala, former UN Under-Secretary-General for
Disarmament Affairs 1998–2003
‘ This essay collection consolidates Ramesh Thakur’s reputation as one of
the most knowledgeable and eloquent world authorities on nuclear weapons
issues, showcasing nearly 30 years of outstanding scholarship and addressing
some of the most serious challenges that have confronted the nuclear non-
proliferation regime. It will appeal to any reader seeking a lively, balanced and
well-informed analysis of the nuclear past, and concerned – as we all must
be – for the nuclear future.’
– Gareth Evans, Convenor, Asia Pacific Leadership Network (APLN)
and Co-Chair, International Commission (ICNND)
on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament
‘ From his perch at universities in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and with
the United Nations in Tokyo, Ramesh Thakur has been thinking and writing
on nuclear arms control and disarmament for close to three decades. There
will be few better guides to the topic, especially as it shapes Asia’s geopolitics.
His deep learning and key insights are channelled into the commitment to
eliminate the scourge of nuclear weapons from the world. Few nuclear-armed
countries are spared critical scrutiny. A rare and welcome blend of analysis
and advocacy, scholarship and policy, and realism and vision.’
– Kishore Mahbubani, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Nuclear Weapons and
International Security
Collected essays
Ramesh Thakur
First published 2015
by Routledge
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© 2015 Ramesh Thakur
The right of Ramesh Thakur to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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ISBN: 978-1-138-78755-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-74948-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Baskerville
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Contents
List of tables xi
List of abbreviations xii
Acknowledgements xvi
Preface – A tale from Hiroshima xviii
1 Introduction: The challenge of nuclear weapons 1
PART I
The nuclear debate 19
2 Nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament: can the power
of ideas tame the power of the state? 21
3 The nuclear debate 36
4 Envisioning nuclear futures 51
PART II
Regional challenges in Asia, the Pacific
and the Middle East 63
5 The last bang before a total ban: French nuclear testing
in the Pacific 65
6 The nuclear option in India’s security policy 78
7 The South Asian nuclear challenge 93
8 The inconsequential gains and lasting insecurities of India’s
nuclear weaponization 109