ATS2640 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Mutual Assured Destruction, Nuclear Fallout, Second Strike
Document Summary
Possession: nuclear weapons are expensive - production produces nuclear waste, both ownership and production of nuclear weapons involve risk of dangerous materials being acquired by non-state actors. Reputable vs rogue nuclear states: hegemonic states typically try to distinguish between states that can be trusted to possess nuclear weapons and those that can"t. Use: actual use: hiroshima and nagasaki, these attacks arguably violated the principle of distinction; they certainly violated proportionality, they were war crimes. It doesn"t seem plausible to argue that nuclear weapons could not be used in accordance to the principle of distinction. Strictly speaking if it is aimed at a military target but it doesn"t seem impossible to aim a nuclear weapon at a military target: proportionality. Some modern nuclear weapons are much smaller than the original generation of nuclear weapons an have been engineered to have some controllable effects.
