Week 7: Resistance to Nuclear Weapons

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to the topic of resistance to nuclear weapons, disarmament, and nuclear threats.

Nuclear Taboo

The belief that nuclear weapons should not be used due to their catastrophic consequences.

Nuclear Deterrence

The idea that nuclear weapons prevent war by making the cost of conflict too high.

Realist Perspective

A viewpoint that sees nuclear weapons as necessary for national security.

Strategic Stability

The maintenance of nuclear weapons to ensure global stability by preventing unilateral aggression.

Camp 1: Disarmament is Necessary

Perspective arguing disarmament is crucial to prevent nuclear war, reduce risks, and avoid nuclear accidents.

Camp 2: Advocates of Disarmament Are Too Alarmist

Perspective claiming nuclear weapons have helped prevent wars through deterrence.

Camp 3: Disarmament is Unrealistic

Viewpoint that asserts nuclear knowledge cannot be un-invented and states will not give up their arsenals.

Sanctions

Economic penalties that may harm civilians more than their governments when used to coerce disarmament.

Camp 5: A World Without Nukes Could Be More Dangerous

View asserting that without nuclear weapons, large-scale wars might return and states could abuse power.

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

A treaty that prohibits most states from developing nuclear weapons while allowing existing nuclear states to retain them.

Global Zero Initiative

President Obama’s campaign to promote global nuclear disarmament between 2009-2017.

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

A treaty aimed at banning the development, testing, and deployment of nuclear weapons.

Nuclear Terrorism

The use or threatened use of nuclear weapons or materials by non-state actors or rogue states.

Dirty Bombs

Radiological dispersal devices that spread radioactive material but are easier to make than full nuclear weapons.

Nuclear Primacy

The capability of the U.S. to destroy other nations' nuclear arsenals in a first strike.