Nuclear weapons and intergenerational exploitation
Nuclear weapons’ defenders claim that they lower the risk of war, at the price of devastation if war breaks out. But sooner or later, on a realist analysis, catastrophic nuclear war is almost sure to come. Nuclear deterrence thus buys us a better chance of dying in bed, while each post-holocaust gen...
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis
2007
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1382/ |
| _version_ | 1848790595404824576 |
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| author | Rendall, Matthew |
| author_facet | Rendall, Matthew |
| author_sort | Rendall, Matthew |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Nuclear weapons’ defenders claim that they lower the risk of war, at the price of devastation if war breaks out. But sooner or later, on a realist analysis, catastrophic nuclear war is almost sure to come. Nuclear deterrence thus buys us a better chance of dying in bed, while each post-holocaust generation will have to pick up the pieces. If the nuclear optimists are wrong, hoping to spread or perpetuate nuclear deterrence is foolish. But if they are right, it is exploitative. Like big cars and cheap flights, nuclear deterrence benefits us at the expense of future generations. States that do not already have the bomb should not get it. Britain and France should consider disarmament, while Russia and the United States should slash their arsenals. Minimum deterrence should be equally stable, but most nuclear optimists, being neorealists who hold that war will continue, should want deep cuts even if it is not. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:15:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-1382 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:15:07Z |
| publishDate | 2007 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-13822020-05-04T20:28:04Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1382/ Nuclear weapons and intergenerational exploitation Rendall, Matthew Nuclear weapons’ defenders claim that they lower the risk of war, at the price of devastation if war breaks out. But sooner or later, on a realist analysis, catastrophic nuclear war is almost sure to come. Nuclear deterrence thus buys us a better chance of dying in bed, while each post-holocaust generation will have to pick up the pieces. If the nuclear optimists are wrong, hoping to spread or perpetuate nuclear deterrence is foolish. But if they are right, it is exploitative. Like big cars and cheap flights, nuclear deterrence benefits us at the expense of future generations. States that do not already have the bomb should not get it. Britain and France should consider disarmament, while Russia and the United States should slash their arsenals. Minimum deterrence should be equally stable, but most nuclear optimists, being neorealists who hold that war will continue, should want deep cuts even if it is not. Taylor & Francis 2007-12 Article PeerReviewed Rendall, Matthew (2007) Nuclear weapons and intergenerational exploitation. Security Studies, 16 (4). pp. 525-554. ISSN 0963-6412 nuclear deterrence; nuclear proliferation; intergenerational justice; minimum deterrence http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a788161601~frm=titlelink 10.1080/09636410701741070 10.1080/09636410701741070 10.1080/09636410701741070 |
| spellingShingle | nuclear deterrence; nuclear proliferation; intergenerational justice; minimum deterrence Rendall, Matthew Nuclear weapons and intergenerational exploitation |
| title | Nuclear weapons and intergenerational exploitation |
| title_full | Nuclear weapons and intergenerational exploitation |
| title_fullStr | Nuclear weapons and intergenerational exploitation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nuclear weapons and intergenerational exploitation |
| title_short | Nuclear weapons and intergenerational exploitation |
| title_sort | nuclear weapons and intergenerational exploitation |
| topic | nuclear deterrence; nuclear proliferation; intergenerational justice; minimum deterrence |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1382/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1382/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/1382/ |