Nuclear Weapons and International Security: Collected Essays.
Wisor, Scott
Nuclear Weapons and International Security: Collected Essays. By
Ramesh Thakur. London: Routledge, 2015.
Ramesh Thakur is a leading expert on nuclear weapons and a former
UN assistant secretary-general with as much experience as anyone in the
world in trying to prevent nuclear proliferation and reduce nuclear
threats. Nuclear Weapons and International Security collects previously
published essays on various issues surrounding nuclear testing, nuclear
nonproliferation, nuclear strategy, and nuclear governance. While some
collections of previously published material do not appear to add much
value, this book rewards the reader who pursues all fourteen chapters in
order. They help show how different nuclear issues have evolved over
time and give a sense of how the threats posed by nuclear weapons and
nuclear proliferation have changed with the emergence of a postwar
multipolar world characterized by imperfect patchwork global governance.
When possible, Thakur has added brief addendums to chapters to indicate
to readers what changes have taken place since the time of writing, and
he has written a new concluding chapter with his final thoughts on what
the next steps should be in addressing the problem of nuclear weapons.
Thakur blends an unwavering moral commitment to eliminating nuclear
weapons with a careful, nuanced interpretation of the political and
security challenges that give rise to the decisions of states to adopt
nuclear weapons or defer disarmament. Perhaps the most important
contribution of the book is to show how each component of the global
nuclear weapons regime is interconnected to other components. French
nuclear testing in the Pacific during the 1990s is related to nuclear
tests in Pakistan and India in 1998, US authorization of India's
nuclear program in the 2000s is connected to Pakistan's
contemporary strategic nuclear posture, and the US-led invasions of Iraq
and Libya are connected to Iranian nuclear ambitions. Of most value to
the readers of this journal will be the final chapters on the global
governance of nuclear weapons and the efforts to strengthen global and
regional antinuclear norms. But all readers will benefit from a careful
examination of the rigorous argumentation that characterizes this
volume. Reviewed by Scott Wisor
