From Hiroshima To Deterrence: The Evolution Of Nuclear Weapons

In 1945, the three leaders of the dominant allied powers: the US President, Harry Truman; the Premier of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin; and the Prime Minister of the UK, Winston Churchill converged in Potsdam to discuss and negotiate the final phase of World War II. It was under this conference that President Harry Truman finally broke the news of the Manhattan Project to Stalin. The Manhattan Project was a secret US project undertaken by the Oppenheimer-led Los Alamos laboratory that birthed the world’s first nuclear weapons. Premier Stalin encouraged President Truman to make good use of the atomic bombs against the Japanese.

A few days after the conference, on 6 August 1945, America launched the ‘Little Boy’ atomic bomb via a B-29 bomber on Hiroshima. The bomb had an explosive yield capacity of around 15,000 tons of trinitrotoluene and killed nearly 140,000 people. Three days later, another bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. These events marked the first time in the history of warfare that nuclear weapons had been used. The two cities were reduced to ruins.

Nuclear Weapons and the Cold War
The nuclear arsenals used on the two cities were purposely designed during World War II for destruction, as a retribution for Japanese attacks on America. However, the goals of obtaining nukes evolved from destruction to intimidation. In 1949, the Soviet Union detonated its first nuclear weapon, becoming the second country to do so after the US. This ushered the world into an arms race between the two superpowers. The two countries continued testing nuclear bombs as a show of might towards each other.

Other countries also achieved nuclear status amid the arms competition between the US and the Soviet Union. In 1952, the UK tested its first nuclear weapon at the Montebello Islands. With time, the number of nuclear stockpiles increased at an alarming rate. This became an issue of grave concern and sparked several protests against the rise in nuclear arsenals. In July 1955, a joint manifesto by Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russel was issued in London, warning of the potential consequences of a nuclear war.

Nuclear Deterrence and MAD
Nuclear weapons have now become central to the security of most powers. It is a general perception that no one attacks a nuclear state like North Korea and Russia.

Such confidence in nuclear deterrence is fueled by the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). The MAD principle implies that certain countries can overwhelmingly counter any nuclear attack by an adversary. One of the most critical aspects of MAD is the nuclear triad system. The nuclear triad is a three-dimensional structure that affords countries the advantage of land-based, air-based, and sea-based nuclear strikes. Nuclear triad powers are countries that possess and have deployed nuclear forces across the three domains using land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, strategic bombers, and nuclear-armed submarines. In this case, should any of these countries be destroyed by another through a nuclear strike, other legs of the triad exist to ensure a successful retaliatory strike. So far, countries that have successfully achieved the triad status are the US, Russia, India and China.

Some countries have taken their MAD policies beyond the triad structure. In Russia, for instance, an automated technology known as the Mertvaya Ruka (translated as ‘Dead hand’) is the final failsafe in case of any nuclear attacks on the country. The system was built to anticipate a timely retaliation of any nuclear strike on Russia. However, if after a reasonable period, the nuclear command fails to sanction a retaliatory strike, the system assumes the enemy has successfully eliminated every member of the hierarchy and will therefore launch autonomous strikes against the aggressor.

International Treaties and the Global Reduction of Nuclear Weapons

The existence of nuclear weapons has placed global security in a precarious position. Several global actions have been taken to address the threat of nuclear arsenals. In 1970, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) came into force as a concerted effort to clamp down on the spread of nuclear weapons and to encourage the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The primary signatories of the NPT were US, UK, and the Soviet Union. Today, more than 190 countries are party to the treaty. The NPT largely depends on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) framework for implementing technical safeguards to ensure that countries comply with their commitments to nuclear agreements.

Another measure of containing nuclear arms is the various Nuclear-Weapons Free Zones (NWFZ) treaties. These treaties placed a ban on countries within some specific regions, especially the global south, from producing, testing, or possessing nuclear weapons. The banned regions are Africa (under the Treaty of Pelindaba), Latin America, the South Pacific, South East and Central Asia. In return, nuclear powers are bound not to threaten or declare a nuclear war on any country within the nuclear-free zone regions.

Some people believe that reduction is not enough and insist on total elimination of nuclear arms. But nuclear weapons have come to stay. It must be understood that in this era nukes are not just weapons. They are bargaining chips. After Russia commenced the special military operations in Ukraine, it reminded NATO of its nuclear capabilities. This is because it is their only assurance against the risk of hostile actions from the enemies. No country will want to lose that.

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