This book examines the importance of global nuclear order, emphasising the importance of perspective in our understanding of it, and its significance in international politics.
Addressing a gap in existing literature, this book provides an introduction to nuclear weapon states and their relationship with the global nuclear order/disorder paradigm. It explores four main themes and aims to:
1. conceptualise the dichotomous paradigm of global nuclear order/disorder;
2. outline the different phases of global nuclear order/disorder from 1945 to present;
3. address the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the wider international nuclear non-proliferation regime;
4. provide an overview of every nuclear weapon state’s national nuclear doctrines throughout the years.
The book will be of much interest to students of nuclear proliferation, global governance, security studies, Cold War studies, foreign policy and IR, more generally.
Introduction
1. What is the Global Nuclear Order and Why Does it Matter?
2. Three Phases of the Global Nuclear Order/Disorder Paradigm
3. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty’s Contribution to Global Nuclear Order
4. The NPT Nuclear Weapon States and Global Nuclear Order
5. The Non-NPT Nuclear Armed States and Global Nuclear Order
6. Reflecting on the Importance of Perspective in Global Nuclear Order
Biography
Sara Z. Kutchesfahani is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. She holds a PhD in Political Science from University College, London, and wrote Politics and the Bomb: The Role of Experts in the Creation of Cooperative Nuclear Non-Proliferation Agreements (Routledge 2013).
"Fears and questions about the future nuclear landscape have leapt back into the public imagination as nuclear states across the globe invest heavily in their arsenals, terrorist groups pursue nuclear material, and political leaders engage in dangerous nuclear saber rattling. As a new generation of students seeks to understand today's nuclear order/disorder better, along comes Sara Kutchesfahani’s new book designed to provide insight into how best to understand today's fast-changing reality. This is an important contribution to a well-established literature. It is written at exactly the right moment to serve as a guide for those trying to make sense of nuclear weapons' continued political currency and their role in shaping today’s global political order."--Rachel Bronson, President and CEO, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists"This is the first book on global nuclear order to speak directly to both the classroom and policy community. It draws out academic debates around nuclear order and how they might matter for our understanding of the impact of nuclear weapons on world order. The book also furthers the academic conversation, utilising the famous Doomsday Clock from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists as an analytical tool to frame, from an historical perspective, our understanding of the evolution of global nuclear order and its highly nebulous nature."--Nicola Leveringhaus, King's College London, UK
"Current developments, both at home and abroad, have thrust issues of nuclear nonproliferation and the role of nuclear weapons in international security policy into mainstream conversations. In her new book, Sara Kutchesfahani guides her readers through the nuclear age and international efforts to constrain and manage the most devastating weapon ever used. Because understanding the past is essential for moving into a less dangerous future, emerging nuclear experts and future policy-makers are a particularly important audience for this book."--Susan F. Burk, Former Special Representative of the US President for Nuclear Nonproliferation with the rank of Ambassador, 2009-12
