The Nuclear Threat: A Global Crisis

Dear Colleagues,

We invite papers that provide an analysis of the current state of issues specified in the narrative and those indicated more concisely below it.  

The cold war concluded three decades ago, and with its closure began the declining threat of nuclear war. Yet, the makeup of international politics has been shifting due to the revival of nuclear arsenals as an important component of relations among states. Because of this—and especially because of nuclear proliferation—innovative thinking is demanded when considering the future of nuclear weapons policy. The evolving nuclear threat is a global crisis.

Worst case scenarios may not have come about, yet enough near misses have occurred to demonstrate the risks. The current direction of escalation that marks contemporary war scenario plans is hazardous.

During the last half-century, the Soviet Union/Russia and America signed treaties in order to diminish the quantity and potential of their nuclear missiles. The breakdown, though, of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and the potential expiration of the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) in 2021 could mark a termination of constraints based on treaties. This advances the issue about the prospective structure of bilateral nuclear arms control. Although nuclear deterrence is being maintained, it is damaged. Some supporting arms control agreements have been broken and others are unravelling. The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) permits five nations to possess nuclear weapons, yet there are currently nine that own them.

In a multipolar world, there exist a number of focal points for the concentration of nuclear weapons. The consequence is that the barrier between conventional and nuclear war is diminishing. The geographic position of nuclear states weakens deterrence. The proliferation of nuclear weapons to nations in comparative proximity to one another causes assault alert times to be much briefer than they once were.

The symmetry between cyber-military and nuclear capacities is indefinite. This is the case for innovative capabilities that involve robotics, artificial intelligence, laser weaponry, and hypersonic speed. Cyberweapons possess capability to undermine a nation’s command and early alarm systems.

Yet, challenges to the control of nuclear weapons go even beyond this. Current psychological insights into the often irrational nature of human decision-making raise questions about the very logic of deterrence. Nuclear weapons jeopardize human security instead of ensuring it.

Topics to be addressed in this Special Issue may include the following:

• Modernization of nuclear triad;
• Dangers of an AI arms race;
• Strategic nuclear options;
• How disarmament broke down;
• First use or no first use policy;
• Consequences of collapse of INF treaty;
• Consequences of possible end of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New Start);
• Consequences of ending Iran nuclear deal;
• North Korea and weapons of mass destruction;
• China’s nuclear option;
• Can the US and Russia exhibit restraint and reduce the risk of war if the era of arms control treaties has ended?
• Can the current era of arms control expand to address concerns about new types of weapons and risks posed by an increasing number of nuclear states?
• Nuclear decision-making under uncertainty;
• Nuclear terrorism;
• Abolition of nuclear weapons.

Prof. Kenneth Keulman
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• Modernization
• North Korea
• Nuclear Terrorism
• Non-proliferation
• Cyber Weapons