"The Spread of Nuclear Weapons"--a Review

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews the book "The Spread of Nuclear Weapons" through comparing and contrasting the viewpoints of its authors, Kenneth Waltz and Scott Sagan. The claims of both Waltz and Sagan are examined as well as the larger arguments from realists and liberals regarding the spread of nuclear weapons. Waltz's realist arguments are contrasted with the more international liberalism of Sagan's protests against adding nuclear weapons in nations which have not traditionally had such programs. The current situation in North Korea is highlighted as an example for each perspective.

From the Paper:

"Nuclear weapons have become the most powerful bargaining tool in the world today, evidenced by the situations in North Korea and Iran and the considerable international unrest they have caused. Nuclear powers fear the addition of new nuclear nations, and nations which do not possess such capabilities see them as potential bargaining chips and defense mechanisms against the more powerful nations. In their joint project The Spread of Nuclear Weapons, Kenneth Waltz and Scott Sagan each defend their view regarding the spread of nuclear weapons. Waltz's realist viewpoint sees the increase in the number of nuclear nations as a potentially stabilizing factor in international relations and strongly believes that more nuclear weapons can contribute to stability in highly volatile areas, similar to the detente achieved between India and Pakistan after each of those traditionally antagonistic nations established nuclear capability."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Allison, Graham. Essence of Decision: explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis. London: Harper-Collins, 1971, pp. 10-38.
• Cha, Victor, "Korea's Place in the Axis," Foreign Affairs, 81:3.
• Cha, Victor in "Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense, and Stability: A Case for Sober Optimism," in Asian Security Order: Instrumental and Normative Features, Muthia Alagappa, ed., Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2002, pp. 458-498.
• Cheng, Joseph Yu-shek, "China and the Korean Situation: The Challenge of Pyongyang's Brinkmanship," in East Asia, Winter 2003.
• Kang, David and Victor Cha Nuclear North Korea, Kang and Cha, New York: Columbia University Press, 2003.

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• Analytical Essay # 14005 : "The Spread Of Nuclear Weapons" by Scott Sagan and Kenneth Waltz"
• Essay # 143783 : "The Problem Of Nuclear Weapons"
• Analytical Essay # 144578 : "The Abolition of Nuclear Weapons"

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