IS THERE A FUTURE FOR NUCLEAR-WEAPONS

To address this question, Michael MccGwire postulates two futures: a low-salience nuclear (LSN) world, as advocated by Michael Quinlan in his article; and a nuclear-weapons-free world. MccGwire bases his comparative assessment on the five tasks that Quinlan indentified as requiring a continuing Western nuclear capability and concludes that for only one of the five are nuclear weapons essential, and that one would lapse in an NWF world. Widening the argument to include other requirements, risks and opportunities, the explicit goal of an NWF world is shown to offer considerably short-and long-term advantage. Achievable in principle, the major obstacle is a mind-set shaped by the Cold War, which inhibits Western officialdom from addressing the question seriously.