14 - Nuclear Weapons

Summary

Nuclear weapons secured status in international affairs throughout the Cold War. The USSR and the United Kingdom acquired them to retain a status equal to the United States after 1945. By the 1960s, the United States and the USSR formed a nuclear superpower duopoly, while the United Kingdom lost its status due to its financial shortages. The PRC, Israel, and France embarked on nuclear projects in the mid-1950s to acquire respect from the USSR, the United States, regional rivals, or any combination thereof. By the late 1950s, Washington and Moscow grew concerned about nuclear proliferation and took action to impose an international non-proliferation regime in the 1960s. Still, China’s first successful test in October 1964 triggered India’s decision to go nuclear in an attempt to restore equal status, which in turn convinced Pakistan to seek nuclear weapons. In the early 1970s, the two superpowers negotiated on the limitation of their nuclear arsenals but still remained in a class of nuclear powers by themselves. With the NATO double-track decision of 1979, West Germany recommitted the United States to Western Europe’s security through the establishment of a regional nuclear deterrent.