A Sense of Insecurity in the Entire World - Coursework Example

A Sense of Insecurity in the Entire World Answer: There are many different perspectives on the initiation of the arms race. However it is evident that once the World War II ended, there were to major powers controlling the world politics. The use of the Atomic bomb by America in Japan had created a sense of insecurity in the entire world. The Atomic bomb was being considered the ultimate weapon, defensive or offensive therefore it was guaranteed that every nation with enough resources would try to acquire it. The American government used to doctrine of Preemption or Deterrence, over the years to define it nuclear program. These doctrines have always stressed that American Nuclear program is not meant to be an offense program but rather a defensive program. The treaty of Nuclear Non-Proliferation (NPT or NNPT) is one of the main treaties signed to prevent a nuclear arms race around the world. Moreover CTBT (Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty) is another treaty aimed at reducing nuclear damage. America however has not ratified these treaties, although it has imposed sanctions on other countries for not signing it. The nuclear arms race has been very damaging to the environment. The dumping of nuclear waste in the oceans has adversely affected marine life. On the other hand one of the most adverse affects of nuclear arms race has been through nuclear tests conducted on land and water. These have caused increases in diseases like cancer. The Nuclear weapons have however prevented any full scale war during recent decades. Two perfect examples include Russian-US and India-Pakistan. These states have been at piling up weapons for generations but nuclear arsenal has prevented any full scale war in recent time. Questions 2 Answer The competition between US and USSR to gain allies during the cold war was one of the biggest reasons of the staggering increase in the arms race. This is because both nations gave weapons to their own allies to increase support and global presence. These two nations engaged in many different proxy wars in order to stamp their world authority. These include Korean War, Subcontinent wars of 1965 and 1971 etc. Once the cold war ended the new sovereign Soviet states such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were loaded with Russian weapons of the cold war era. These states after independence were ragged with poverty and corruption. Therefore one source of income for their corrupt leaders was selling weapons on the black market. This factor has continued the supply of conventional weapons even after the cold war. The export of weapons by the US government has ensured that conflicts continue to spread all around the world. This for America is one of their most profitable industries; therefore reasons behind this export are more economic than political. This spread of conventional weapons has been a great reason for wars all around the globe as opposed to nuclear weapons which have maintained peace. Questions 3 Answer: The results of wars have been devastating for people of warring nations. This is because war does not only create economic problems but also psychological and social problems. To understand this phenomenon better one must understand the state of nations such as Afghanistan and Somalia. These nations have been involved for years in civil wars, fueled by international powers for their own aims. The state of Afghan economy is deplorable. The drug trade in this region took strength in the 80’s and 90’ due to the bad economic condition of the economy after the Afghan war. The gun culture in Afghanistan is another symbol of the psychological trauma faced by people during years of war. The Ak-47 is considered a part of a person’s dress code in this unstable region. Moreover once considered a country filled with exotic locations and beautiful scenery, the country is now nothing but ruins. The fields which once grew the world famous red pomegranate are now filled with poppy. Question 4 Answer: The September 11 attacks started another era of military paranoia in American administration. Therefore the focus of the US government shifted from maintaining peace with USSR to asserting its authority on the world as a super power. The ABM has for decades stopped an arms race in anti-missile systems. However the technological superiority of the US military after the end of USSR means that they can easily outmatch any other nation. Therefore US governments withdrew their participation in ABM and proceeded with much publicized anti-missile tests. The President of America George Bush informed his Russian counterpart of this withdrawal because the treaty asks for a six month prior notice of any withdrawal. This is the first major treaty that America has ever backed out from based on preventing an arms race. Many critics argue that after dissolution of the Soviet Union the treaty was legally void. Others argue that dominance of America as the only world super power would render it void even if there were no legal aspects. The anti-missile system created by the American Military has been a limited success. The success of this system and its deployment under the name of NMD clearly means that the peace kept by nuclear deterrence has been shattered. A new era of militarization has begun in the world. Many supporters of the National Missile Defense System argue that it is the last defensive line against attack from any rouge nuclear state. The spread of nuclear warheads and missile systems built to carry these weapon from former Russian States supports this argument. However other critics argue that this system is a major blow to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. 5. The proliferation of nuclear weapons has long been a concern of the international community, leading to the development of the NPT in 1969. What are the key specific objectives of this treaty? How successful has the NPT been in its goal of stopping proliferation? Discuss several factors that have been seen as obstacles to the implementation and enforcement of the NPT. Question 5 Answer: The NPT came into effect in 1970, when the cold war was at its peak. There was international concern about the accidental deployment of nuclear weapons globally and thus NPT was proposed by Ireland and Finland. They also became the first nations to Sign the NPT. Currently more than one hundred and eight states have signed the treaty. The treaty contains five declared nuclear states i.e. US, Russia, UK, France and China. The treaty has failed to contain the spread of nuclear weapons over the years. The four declared nuclear states which are not part of the treaty are testament to this fact. These states include Pakistan, India, North Korea and Israel. The structure of the treaty can be understood if we divide its eleven articles into three affective pillars: Non-proliferation: The NPT recognizes the five nuclear states and enforces them not to transfer nuclear technology to other members or non-members of the treaty. Moreover these states are also required not to encourage or assist any other non-nuclear state in acquiring nuclear technology. This monitoring is done by a separate body formed under the treaty called IAEA. The job of this body is to ensure that Nuclear energy is only being used for peaceful purposes by these nuclear countries. Disarmament The Disarmament of nuclear weapons is another clause of the treaty. The treaty encourages members to reduce mutual conflicts and thus reach a state where production of nuclear weapons would be no longer necessary. However this clause of the treaty is very vague and subjective. The treaty does not explicitly set a time frame or deadline for disarmament but only generally encourages it. The right to peacefully use nuclear technology The treaty also gives member states the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. However this use should be closely monitored by IAEA. The critics of NPT mostly target the disarmament clause. However recent efforts by the US government to reduce its nuclear arsenal to one third of its original size can be considered positive initiatives. Question 6 Answer: The end of cold war was deemed as many as the end of the nuclear arms race. The dominance of America over international politics should have given the guarantee that the world was safe from any new nuclear issues. However the nuclear arms race is still not over. This is because many other conflicts are not threatening the world with a nuclear catastrophe. A very notable nuclear arms race exists in the subcontinent where nuclear states India and Pakistan have deployed hundreds of warheads. Therefore we can say that the herald has not proven true. Questions 7 Answer: The arrests and detention of thousands of Muslims during the post September 11 paranoia has left a dark mark on the humanitarian efforts of United States. The US government used proxy prison camps to allow its military to torture Prisoners. Moreover the people captured from Iraq and Afghanistan was not given the status of POWs. Most of these Muslim prisoners were kept in the world famous prison known as Guantanamo Bay. A prison was formed especially on an island away from America so that America laws would not apply on the facility. Moreover the video tapes which showed the torture by American soldiers on Iraqi prisoners in Abu-Gahreeb jail are examples of human rights violations by the American Government. The Bush government throughout its entire tenure continued to advocate stricter techniques to deal with these prisoners and continued to refuse them status of Prisoners of wars. The administration claimed that as these enemy combatants did not represent any legitimate government they could be given the status of POWs. Question 8 Answer: According to Samuel Huntington the world had reached a state where there were no more conflicts on basis of ideologies. The world according to his theory had reached a state where everyone was agreed upon an ideology in terms of economic and political sense. Thus the only conflict possible was on the basis of religion and culture. Huntington divided the world into two different blocks of culture or power i.e. eastern and western block. Thus Huntington says that the differences in culture would dominate global politics in the future. The groups (similar to Communists and Fascists during cold war era) would be formed on the basis of religion and culture. Amartya Sen however says that a person does not belong to a single group of identity. Therefore according to her this the fact that Huntington divides humanity simply into groups on basis of culture and religion is wrong. The humanity is also divided into other groups such as nationalities, locations, occupations, politics, languages, incomes classes, social status etc. References Global Issues 10/11 Twenty-Sixth Edition Global Politics in a Changing World: A Reader, fourth edition, 2009 Read More