Nuclear Weapons History and Proliferation: Conclusion

Conclusion

Of anything, what had the greatest impact on the development of nuclear weapons, was fear of being annihilated, a threat that faced every nation. Paranoia kept every nation on edge, and fearful: “Number of false alarms of nuclear missile attacks generated by the US early warning system between 1977 and 1984: 20,784” (Harper’s Magazine, “Nuclear Energy”, http://www.harpers.org/Nuclear.html). The fear of extermination caused many nations to pursue the development of nuclear weapons. This was because nuclear weapons were known to be deadly, and by having them, a country could easily protect itself from others. The threat of your neighbor having more nuclear weapons than you caused the development and production of nuclear weapons to occur at an augmented rate. The fear of annihilation came from the development of nuclear weapons, and the stockpiles of them that rival nations had built up. Such an immense fear caused dozens of nations, primarily the US and USSR, to form agreements in the form of treaties, limiting nuclear capabilities. Limiting nuclear capabilities was done by limiting: nuclear weapons stockpiles and the capabilities of those weapons, nuclear weapon use in specific regions of the world, and, nuclear weapon use in certain geographical locations. Countless treaties after treaties were signed, eventually causing the general fear of extinction by nuclear weapons to subside within the world. If you were Reagan, would you have accepted Gorbachev’s proposal to eliminate all nuclear weapons by the year 2000?

Other posts on nuclear arms:

Nuclear Weapons History and Proliferation: Introduction
Nuclear Weapons History and Proliferation: 1940s
Nuclear Weapons History and Proliferation: 1950s
Nuclear Weapons History and Proliferation: 1960s
Nuclear Weapons History and Proliferation: 1970s
Nuclear Weapons History and Proliferation: 1980s
Nuclear Weapons History and Proliferation: Conclusion

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