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Nuclear Weapons in International Relations

Module description

This module examines humanity’s ultimate destructive technology – nuclear weapons – and their international-political significance. Nuclear weapons are unique not only because of their lethality, but also in their capacity to inflict unbearable suffering even on the ‘winners’ of a conventional military conflict. Military force is typically conceptualised as an instrument of policy, linking means to ends. However, it is hard to conceive of a proportional use of ‘nukes’ short of a scenario of existential war. And ever since the Soviet Union conducted its first successful test, the prospect of a nuclear ‘exchange’ has haunted humanity, making the achievement of strategic advantage through detonation of such weapons even harder to imagine. Thus, atomic weaponry poses a radical and unprecedented challenge to the logic of strategy, traditionally conceived. States have predominantly treated nukes as assets that are used without being detonated; to deter aggressors, for example, or to gain prestige. ‘Threatening genocide to prevent genocide’ is hardly a happy status quo in international affairs, but every approach confronts complex dilemmas.

This module examines the evolution of ideas, doctrines, and strategies that humanity has devised to cope with the nuclear revolution. Why do states pursue or resist nuclearization? Why do they disarm or enter arms races, and is eventual ‘usage’ just a matter of time? Can atomic weaponry by justified morally? And are nukes ultimately a cause of peace or a motivator of conflict in world politics? This module surveys  the evolution of nuclear history from the first use of atomic weapons in 1945 through to the contemporary situation, with its nightmares of nuclear terrorism and proliferation to non-state actors, nuclear accidents, and competition between nuclear powers that lack stable deterrence and crisis-management relationships. It critically compares different ways of handling the nuclear problem: arms control, the movement for disarmament towards a ‘zero’ nuclear world, to controlled proliferation and associated deterrence, and to the creation of a social ‘taboo’.

No pre-requisite or co-requisite modules are required in order to register for this module. It will provide you with a basic introduction to the problem of the nuclear revolution and what it means for international relations. It will also consider the implications of nuclear weapons for international relations theory. As such, this module is suitable for both specialist and non-specialist students who are interested in studying international security from multiple perspectives, thereby rendering it suitable for interdisciplinary pathways. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module will provide you with:

• A grasp of the history of nuclear weapons from their initial invention to the 21^st Century, via the Cold War;
• The opportunity to evaluate competing visions of how nuclear weapons should be understood;
• A critical understanding of debates around what drives proliferation and disarmament;
• A vital context for judging the validity of competing theoretical approaches in International Relations.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key issues revolving around nuclear weapons and international security;
• 2. apply this awareness to contemporary problems of proliferation and counter-proliferation;

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. display an understanding of the evolution of strategic theory and international relations theory, and their utility for contemporary decision-making;
• 4. exercise informed judgement about change and continuity in international relations;

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. conduct independent research, exercise critical judgement and write clearly and persuasively;
• 6. demonstrate the ability to analyse complex and fast-changing problems and to have the confidence – individually and as part of a group – to design and advocate workable strategic solutions;
• 7. demonstrate the ability to work independently – within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources – to complete a specified task.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of the following topics: 1) the history of nuclear weapons, starting in World War II; 2) a range of highly contested analytical and normative problems created in the nuclearized era; and 3) competing arguments for how states should approach and manage nuclear weapons in our time.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

(This reading list is indicative – it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list.)

• Lawrence Freedman, The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy (London: Macmillan, 1982).
• Lawrence Freedman, “The First Two Generations of Nuclear Strategists,” in Makers of Modern Strategy: From Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age, ed. Peter Paret (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986), pp. 735-778.
• Richard Smoke, National Security and the Nuclear Dilemma, 3rd ed. (Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1993), Chapter 13 (pp. 236-263).
• Albert Wohlstetter, “The Delicate Balance of Terror,” Foreign Affairs 37, no. 2 (January 1959): 211-234.
• Paul H. Nitze, “Deterring Our Deterrent,” Foreign Policy 25 (Winter 1976-77): 195-210.
• Robert Jervis, “Why Nuclear Superiority Doesn’t Matter,” Political Science Quarterly 94, no. 4 (Winter 1979/1980): 617-633.
• Marc Trachtenberg, “The Influence of Nuclear Weapons in the Cuban Missile Crisis,” International Security 10, no. 1 (Summer 1985): 136-163.
• Avery Goldstein, Deterrence and Security in the 21st Century (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2002).
• Scott Sagan and Kenneth Waltz, The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Renewed, 3rd ed. (New York: Norton, 2013).
• Scott Sagan, “Why Do States Build Nuclear Weapons? Three Models in Search of a Bomb,” International Security 21, no. 3 (Winter 1996-1997): 54-86.
• Jacques E.C. Hymans, The Psychology of Nuclear Proliferation: Identity, Emotions, and Foreign Policy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), Chapters 1-2 (pp. 1-46).
• John Mueller, “The Essential Irrelevance of Nuclear Weapons: Stability in the Postwar World,” International Security 13, No. 2 (Fall 1988): 55-79. 

Key words search

Strategic Studies, International Security, Diplomacy, Nuclear weapons, Deterrence, Proliferation, Counter-Proliferation.