Warfare, has been used throughout the centuries by kings, emperors, and rulers to protect their land and more so their people. There are two types of warfare, one being that of traditional warfare which generally, consists of leaders using mass armies to conquer the opposing side, however, changes in technologies and weapons meant that leaders had to rethink the way in which they fought battles. The use of gunpowder weapons changed the way in which battles were fought dating back as early as the late 13th century with the introduction of the bronze-barrelled cannon (Rietbergen, 1998). Bacon argues that with the introduction of the new technology, the way in which the state observes the rest of the world has changed. That is, trade routes made it possible for the spread of gunpowder weapons that until the end of the 13th century was not possible (Rietbergen, 1998). Philosopher, Kenneth Waltz famous for writing The Spread of Nuclear Weapons in 1981, argued that wars exist in an anarchic domain as long as there is a lust for power between States. It is also argued that if States where to go to war it is because it feels that it is at risk of attack and needs to defend itself and it’s citizens (Waltz, 1998). Therefore, it is important to initially understand background into the causes of war and the development of traditional warfare into the transformation to modern warfare. The essay will then illustrate that it was not until the Starlin era that the need for change from traditional warfare to modern warfare was evident due to the changes in areas of technology and strategies (Snyder, 2008). Furthermore, the extent of the impact of the Cold War period signified that the use of traditional warfare would be inadequate as a nuclear d...
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... Social Catastrophe, Jonathan Cape, - London
Hough, O., 2006, Understand Global Security, Routledge, - New York
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Powell, R., 2003, ‘Nuclear Deterrence Theory, Nuclear Proliferation, and National Missile Defence’, International Security, 27 (4), pp. 86-118
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SoRelle, Larry Madaras and James. Unit 3 The Cold War and Beyond. McGraw-Hill, 2012. Book.
Symonds, Peter. "World Socialist Web Site ." US think tank report weighs up "grim future' of nuclear war (2013).
Holloway, David, Stalin and the Bomb: The Soviet Union and Atomic Energy 1939–1956, (New Haven:Yale University Press, 1994).
Jonathan B. Tucker (2001, spring). (The Nonproliferation Review) The “Yellow Rain” Controversy: Lessons for arms Control Compliance
Eric Schollser argues in his paper “Today’s Nuclear Dilemma,” that the nuclear weapons in the world, and the issues that they are associated with, should be of major concern to today’s society. Nuclear Weapons were of world wide concern during the time of the Cold War. These weapons, and their ability to cause colossal devastation, brought nightmares into reality as the threat of nuclear war was a serious and imminent issue. The US and Russia both built up their inventories of these pieces of artillery, along with the rest of their arsenals, in an attempt to overpower the other. This past terror has become a renewed concern because many of the countries with these nuclear weapons in their control have started to update their collections. One
Out of all the dangerous powers and authority our government wields, possibly the most threatening powers are nuclear weapons. People tend to be frightened by things they do not understand, which make nuclear weapons a perfect catalyst for fear. These weapons have the most overwhelming and destructive power known to man; although, nuclear weapons are only safe in countries that try to maintain harmony and stability. Nuclear weapons are defined as “explosive devices whose destructive potential derives from the release of energy that accompanies the splitting or combining of atomic nuclei.” This power is both dangerous and unstable in the hands of small erratic countries.
Scott D. Sagan, the author of chapter two of “More Will Be Worse”, looks back on the deep political hostilities, numerous crises, and a prolonged arms race in of the cold war, and questions “Why should we expect that the experience of future nuclear powers will be any different?” The author talks about counter arguments among scholars on the subject that the world is better off without nuclear weapons. In this chapter a scholar named Kenneth Waltz argues that “The further spread of nuclear weapons may well be a stabilizing factor in international relations.” He believes that the spread of nuclear weapons will have a positive implications in which the likely-hood of war decreases and deterrent and defensive capabilities increase. Although there
Langley, Andrew. "The Collapse of the Soviet Union: The End of an Empire." In The Collapse of the Soviet Union: The End of an Empire, by Andrew Langley, 53. Mankato: Compass Point Books, 2007.
The Cold War historiography, specifically the issue of nuclear deterrence has provided historians the classic dialectic of an original thesis that is challenged by an antithesis. Both then emerge in the resolution of a new synthesis. Unfortunately, each evolution of a new synthesis is quickly demolished with each political crisis and technological advance during the Cold War narrative. The traditional/orthodox views were often challenged by the conventional wisdom with the creation of synthesis or post revisionism. There appears to be a multiple historiographical trends on nuclear deterrence over the Cold War; each were dependent and shaped upon international events and technological developments. I have identified four major trends: the orthodox, the revisionist, the post revisionist, st and the New Left. Each of these different historical approaches had its proponents and opponents, both in the military as well as the political and
“A prince, therefore, must not…take anything as his profession but war…” these are the words of Nicollo Machiavelli and which he exclaims very clearly in his philosophies, that a good ruler must be great at the art war to succeed. One of the ways M shows his outlook on war, is by explaining how important it is to bear arms at all times and to never be without a weapon, for weapons are the tools of war and if used correctly and intelligently you will prevail over all during times of war. Secondly, M explains that a necessary induced order, unity, and fealty to the leader of a nation by projected and incited fear of that leader or leadership is the only way a leader can be looked can be respected by his own military. Moreover, with the respect of that military, a leader must have a good knowing of his home terrain in order to plan both offensive and defensive actions, and also to know history of great past leaders bouts with other countries, for this knowledge gai...
Ronald E. Powaski, March to Armageddon: The United States and the Nuclear Arms Race, 1939 to the Present, (Oxford: OUP, 1987), 107.
From the creation of nuclear weapons at the start of the Cold War to today, the world has experienced struggles fueled by the want of nuclear power. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Iran’s nuclear weapon program are some of the most important conflicts over nuclear weapons. Thanks to the use of nuclear weapons in 1945 to end World War II, the world has come extremely close to a nuclear war, and more countries have began developing nuclear power. Unmistakably, many conflicts since the start of the Cold War have been caused by nuclear weapons, and there are many more to come.
Geissmann, Hans J. 2001. “The Underrated OSCE” Working paper presented for Consultation on NATO Nuclear Policy, National Missile Defence & Alternative Security Arrangements in Ottowa, Canada. http://www.ploughshares.ca/libraries/WorkingPapers/Simons%20Conf%20Ottawa/Giessmann.html
Friedman, Benjamin, “The Proliferation Security Initiative: The Legal Challenge”, Bipartisan Security Group Policy Brief, September 4,2003,pp.2-3.
In 1945, when the Americans bombed Hiroshima, Japan, approximately 140,000 men and women were instantly killed by the effects of American nuclear defense. With such extreme brutality and force how many people must die for one to finally realize the strengths of nuclear bombs and what damage they can cause. Nuclear weapons should be outlawed because they kill thousands of innocent humans at a time, destroy the environment, and inviolate human’s right to moral and personal freedoms.