This critical review of the new political science literature on the causes of nuclear weapons proliferation consists of four parts. The first section briefly presents what we know about which states developed nuclear weapons and which states started but abandoned weapons development programs. I highlight the problems that result from uncertainty about the accuracy and completeness of the data. ...

Today’s international law regime leaves little room for lawful use of nuclear weapons.1 At the same time, there is no prohibition of these weapons per se.2 This situation distinguishes them from biological and chemical weapons, which are subject to comprehensive bans under the 1972 Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons Convention and the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, respectively. The ‘legal ga...

Arsenals of nuclear weapons have continued to shrink: in December 2001, the United States and Russia completed reductions under START I; the United States has completed reductions under the 1991 Presidential Nuclear Initiatives (PNIs),1 and Russia is reportedly close to completing them.2 The May 2002 Treaty of Moscow will also shrink the operationally deployed strategic nuclear forces of both R...

Nuclear weapons pose a grave threat to the health of children. The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which for almost 40 years has limited the spread of nuclear weapons, is in danger of unraveling. At the 2000 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference, 180 countries, including the United States, agreed on 13 practical steps to implement Article VI of the treaty, which calls for nuclear d...

Since the obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons have captured the attention of social scientists and the public alike. Some argue that the world benefits from nuclear weapons, claiming that they prevent war. Skeptics do not share this view and worry that nuclear weapons will only intensify conflict. Unfortunately, most theories about the benefits of nuclear weapons await judge...

Commentators differ on whether nuclear disarmament would be desirable, but many argue that disarmament is impractical because it could not be verified. Three reasons are often offered for such pessimism. First, nuclear weapons are small and difficult to detect, and one could not be sure that a few weapons had not been hidden away. Second, nuclear weapons are so destructive that a mere handful w...

This report addresses the tenuous link between nuclear power reactor development and the proliferation of nuclear weapons, particularly with respect to possible terrorist exploitation. Arguments are presented that contradict the popular image of nuclear weaponry as a "basement project". 4 CONTENTS

A new line of nuclear winter research shows that even small, regional nuclear wars could have catastrophic global consequences. However, major disarmament to avoid nuclear winter goes against the reasons nuclear weapon states have for keeping their weapons in the first place, in particular deterrence. To reconcile these conflicting aims, this paper develops the concept of winter-safe deterrence...