Statement of Problem
Despite massive efforts and billions spent by the United States and its partners towards substantial improvements in nuclear security, we continue to see instances of nuclear insecurity, such as the Y-2 debacle. The focus of the work on improved nuclear security at the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) needs to shift from urgent patchwork to fill security gaps to effective, sustainable security, addressing issues of testing, best practices, and professional standards [1].
Washington and Seoul Summits
Some leaders may already be experiencing nuclear security fatigue, but the NSS has had merit. The NSS 2010 had modest goals of drawing attention, at the highest level, to the need to prevent nuclear terrorism by securing nuclear materials and making political agreements [4]. The real successes of the Washington summit were in establishing a consensus that nuclear terrorism is a global threat, ushering a sense of urgency of the problem, and facilitating breakthroughs [1]. In Seoul, NSS 2012 focused on implementing those agreements using “gift baskets,” multinational commitments[1] [5] [6], which were promising since such undertakings entail cooperation and a greater scope of action. Most of all, these summits imposed action deadlines.
In March, the Hague summit requires leaders to tie together the last four years of NSS while creating a pathway towards a more comprehensive, forward-looking agenda[7]. The Stanley Foundation stresses multilateral action to create fair, just, and lasting solutions to critical issues of peace and security. Thus, as we review the Seoul Communiqué in preparation for Hague, our focus centers on world leaders agreeing to make further progress in the following important areas [4] [5]:
• Recog...
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...Available from: https://http://www.nss2014.com/en/nss-2014/about-the-nss.
5. Seoul Communiqué, in Nuclear Security Summit Seoul 2012. 2012, Council on Foreign Relations: Seoul, South Korea.
6. Preventing Weak Links in Nuclear Security: A Strategy for Soft and Hard Governance, in 54th Annual Strategy for Peace Conference. 2013, The Stanley Foundation.
7. Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group. Building International Confidence and Responsibility in Nuclear Security: Summary Report & Initial Policy Recommendations from the Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group. in Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group Workshop on Building International Confidence and Responsibility in Nuclear Security. 2012. The Stanley Foundation.
8. Uranium Downblending. Uranium Enrichment and Fuel Fabrication 2005 February 4, 2014]; Available from: http://www.wise-uranium.org/eudb.html.
Nolan, Janne E. 1999. An Elusive Consensus: Nuclear Weapons and American Security After the Cold War. Washington, DC: Brookings Institute Press.
The United Nations General Assembly 36-103 focused on topics of hostile relations between states and justification for international interventions. Specifically mentioned at the UNGA was the right of a state to perform an intervention on the basis of “solving outstanding international issues” and contributing to the removal of global “conflicts and interference". (Resolution 36/103, e). My paper will examine the merits of these rights, what the GA was arguing for and against, and explore relevant global events that can suggest the importance of this discussion and what it has achieved or materialized.
Origins for the cooperation amongst powers necessary to tackle international disputes can be traced back to the 19th century, however the formation of the League of Nations was eagerly prompted by the First World War. After the horrors in which the world observed, leaders merged together and rejoiced in the potential for a new international system. The League of Nations foremost objective was to secure peace through collective efforts of ‘peace-loving’ powers (Steans, Pettiford, & Diez, 2005, p. 31). President Woodrow Wilson was a lead proponent in the creation of such a body, suggesting it- within his message on the Conditions of Peace- as a means of ‘affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike’ (Wilson, 1918). The following year a detailed scheme was presented at the Versailles Peace Conference and the league was swiftly established with the addition of a permanent secretariat in Geneva. (Catterall, 1999, p. 50). The League was very much considered the ‘most daring and innovative proposal’ (Wilkinson, 2007, p. 85)
... examined the importance of the nuclear weapons military revolution and its lasting impacts on modern day society. Evidence presented supports why this military revolution had the most impact of all on warfare and was carefully illustrated through the immergence of new threats, the shift from total war and high intensity conflict to low intensity conflict and finally, the critical role that technology and innovation has played since the advent of nuclear weapons. This is important in today’s operational and strategic environment due to the fact that American military and political leadership will continue to have taken in account the use of nuclear weapons on the battlefield. As globalization continues to set the conditions for nuclear weapons proliferation worldwide, the restraints and operational risks will dramatically increase and affect all strategic planning.
The Cold War was a political standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States that again created a new worldwide nuclear threat. The destructive potential of nuclear weapons has created a global sweep of fear as to what might happen if these terrible forces were unleashed again. The technology involved in building the first atomic bombs has grown into the creation of nuclear weapons that are potentially 40 times more powerful than the original bombs used. However, a military change in strategy has come to promote nuclear disarmament and prevent the usage of nuclear weapons. The technology of building the atomic bomb has spurred some useful innovations that can be applied through the use of nuclear power.
From the creation of nuclear weapons at the start of the Cold War to today, the world has experienced struggles fueled by the want of nuclear power. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Iran’s nuclear weapon program are some of the most important conflicts over nuclear weapons. Thanks to the use of nuclear weapons in 1945 to end World War II, the world has come extremely close to a nuclear war, and more countries have began developing nuclear power. Unmistakably, many conflicts since the start of the Cold War have been caused by nuclear weapons, and there are many more to come.
From Declaration #35 of Agenda 2030, we learn that the U.N. will develop peace and safety - or nothing else will work. This brings up an interesting proclamation from the
Since its origin in 1948, North Korea has been isolated and heavily armed, with hostile relations with South Korea and Western countries. It has developed a capability to produce short- and medium-range missiles, chemical weapons, and possibly biological and nuclear weapons. In December 2002, Pyongyang lifted the freeze on its plutonium-based nuclear weapons program and expelled IAEA inspectors who had been monitoring the freeze under the Agreed Framework of October 1994. As the Bush administration was arguing its case at the United Nations for disarming Iraq, the world has been hit with alarming news of a more menacing threat: North Korea has an advanced nuclear weapons program that, U.S. officials believe, has already produced one or two nuclear bombs. As the most recent standoff with North Korea over nuclear missile-testing approaches the decompression point, the United States needs to own up to a central truth: The region of Northeast Asia will never be fully secure until the communist dictatorship of North Korea passes from the scene. After threatening to test a new, long-range missile, Pyongyang says it is willing to negotiate with "the hostile nations" opposing it. But whether the North will actually forgo its test launch is anyone's guess. North Korea first became embroiled with nuclear politics during the Korean War. Although nuclear weapons were never used in Korea, American political leaders and military commanders threatened to use nuclear weapons to end the Korean War on terms favorable to the United States. In 1958, the United States deployed nuclear weapons to South Korea for the first time, and the weapons remained there until President George Bush ordered their withdrawal in 1991. North Korean government stateme...
It has been almost a century since the first Paris Peace Conference was hold, but even until now, it is a popular yet also controversial event in the history of the world. The Paris Peace Conference took place in 1919 involving more than 1,000 representatives from over 30 nations. The results of the Conference are five treaties regarding terms that, according to the Conference, shall prevent any upcoming conflicts among nations. Although World War II started only after 15 years, nonetheless, the treaties did function as a buffer between countries. Although many resolutions were discussed, the negotiation of the Conference revolves around four main topics, reparation from the previous war losses or limitations on the main Central Power, Germany, self-recognition, President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, and the annexation of land.
It is therefore no longer is it credible for a state to turn its back on international law, alleging a bias towards European values and influence. All that humankind now requires to bring about the elusive, but eternal, dream of perpetual peace is a global citizenship based on a strong commitment to principles of equity and democracy grounded in civil society.
Mingst, K. (2011). Essentials of international relations. (5th ed., p. 70-1). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company
Geissmann, Hans J. 2001. “The Underrated OSCE” Working paper presented for Consultation on NATO Nuclear Policy, National Missile Defence & Alternative Security Arrangements in Ottowa, Canada. http://www.ploughshares.ca/libraries/WorkingPapers/Simons%20Conf%20Ottawa/Giessmann.html
Kim, Yongho and Yi, Yurim “Security Dilemmas and Signaling during the North Korean Nuclear Standoff”, Asian Perspective, Vol. 29, No. 3, 2005, pp. 73-97
It is a well-known fact that the dropping of the two atomic bombs near the end of World War II in 1945 ushered in the dawn of the Atomic Age. For the first time in human history, the world was introduced to the awesome power of nuclear weapons. Since that time, there have been several different nuclear threats to the world, and one of those threats can be found along the Pacific Rim, in the country of North Korea. Like the dropping of the atomic bombs, it is also known that the North Korean government has admitted to possessing nuclear weapons, and in doing so, it stands as a silent, potential nuclear danger to the rest of the world.
IOs and states play a critical role in maintaining world peace and security. The United Nations (UN), in particular, is the centerpiece of global governance with respect to the maintenance of world peace. The UN provides general guidelines for all the states on how to solve potential conflicts and maintain international o...