Estefano, Sheyn V.

AB. Political Science

Nuclear Weapon

1
After the first use of an atomic bomb by the US on Japan in August 1945, the
world was transformed. The total devastation caused by the two bombs that the US dropped
on Nagasaki and Hiroshima confirmed that the nature of warfare had changed forever. Although
the United Stated was the first one that successfully detonate a nuclear bomb, other states were
also researching about the technology. The second state to successfully detonate a bomb was the
Soviet Union during 1949. The United Kingdom during 1952, France in 1960 and China in 1964
followed. As the number of nations possessing nuclear weapons increased from one to five,
there were genuine fears that these dangerous weapons would proliferate uncontrollably to
many other nations.
2
the early 1960s, nuclear weapons had been built that could result in devastation for
hundreds of kms beyond the impact zone. The United States and the Soviet Union, who were all
we know that had been rivals, locked into a system of rivalry known as the Cold War, seemed to
be in a race to outdo each other in terms of the quantity and quality of bombs each possessed.
The Cold War was known as such because the presence of nuclear weapons on both sides made a
traditional war between the two almost unfathomable. If somehow they were to end up engaged
in a direct conflict they each had the power to destroy the other entirely and in doing so that
could jeopardize human civilization as a whole.
Building on earlier progress, the 1970s opened with the entering into force of the Treaty
on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1970) – often known as the Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT). This treaty channels that nuclear technology into civilian uses and to recognize the
destabilizing effect of further nuclear weapons proliferation on the international community. We
may not know the effect of the nuclear weapons that may affect our climate and our environment.
The best part of the treaty is that it's not eliminating the nuclear weapons but rather it sought to
freeze countries to use the weapons as to consider the five nations and leave it to them to produce
and maintain namely; the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France and
China. Though the proliferation treaty is not that perfect as it have a certain points wherein
problems arise, it is well a good foundation for our peace maintain and international relations.

1
Stephen McGlinchey’s “E-International Relations” 2017, pg.24-25

2
Stephen McGlinchey’s “E-International Relations” 2017, pg.24-