StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

The Carter Administration and the Evolution of American Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Ever since the first nuclear bomb was dropped in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world knew that a monster had been unleashed. As knowledge could not be unlearned, it was of the utmost necessity to develop policies that would rein in this technology and prevent it from being abused and used to decimate humankind…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.6% of users find it useful
The Carter Administration and the Evolution of American Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Carter Administration and the Evolution of American Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy"

Download file to see previous pages

Should one continue to play in the field to make sure that it is kept regulated Or should one insist on the moral high ground and stay away from an arena where the evil is both patent and inherent No other world leader has been hounded by this question more than Jimmy Carter, whose regime has seen the evolution of the American Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Though his good faith and commitment to his advocacy have remained unquestioned, many have voiced their opposition over a nuclear containment strategy that effectively cuts off US engagement from other States with respect to the development of nuclear arsenal, and restricts technology transfer with the end in view of achieving nuclear nonproliferation.

It is submitted, however, that Carter is not to blame for the failure of his policies. The larger political landscape - both internal and external - must be examined. If at all, Carter must be lauded for boldly extricating the discourse of nuclear weapons from the neither-here-nor-there language of political ambiguity. His fierce and uncompromising condemnation of nuclear weapons has found resonance all over the world, and continues to affect American foreign policy, one American President after another.

The history of American policy on nuclear weapons is indeed a colorful and protracted one. After the Second World War ended, the Soviet Union began the nuclear race. Desirous of preventing the Soviets from amassing nuclear arsenal, the US encouraged its allies to explore its nuclear capabilities as well. However, the infamous nuclear testing conducted by France radically altered policy and nonproliferation became the avowed goal. The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty was entered into by the administration of Lyndon Johnson.

However, it was a secondary issue for all intents and purposes. America was made complacent by the absence of threats.When India detonated a nuclear device in 1984, a paradigm shift took place. Nonproliferation suddenly became an important issue. Then President Nixon gave word that he would supply nuclear reactors to Egypt and Israel so they may develop their own nuclear capabilities. Many raised fears, valid fears, that this would only lead to the unabated spread of nuclear weapons and it would reach a point when regulation would be next to impossible.

Comes now Jimmy Carter, riding on the crescent wave of anti-nuclear weapon advocates. In his campaign, he always gave special importance to the issue of nuclear weapons. He knew why he wanted to do it - because the anti-nuclear weapons advocacy was at the core human rights issue, and how he would do it - by prohibiting the commercial reprocessing and recycling of plutonium used in the creation of nuclear weapons. By arresting the technology transfer, Carter believed that he was paving the way for nuclear containment.

This was a radical and total departure from the policies of Nixon on Ford, who believed in strategic engagement, even a little muscle-flexing, when the need arises. His was a complete declaration of war against nuclear weapons; not the case-to-case basis policy of previous regimes.Much opposition was generated by Carter's policy. In the strong words of Sen. Pete Domenici, a Republican from New Mexico, " a strategy of nonproliferation based solely on denial of equipment and technology will at most only delay, not prohibit this possibility.

" The legislature also

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“The Carter Administration and the Evolution of American Nuclear Essay”, n.d.)
The Carter Administration and the Evolution of American Nuclear Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1505919-the-carter-administration-and-the-evolution-of-american-nuclear-nonproliferation-policy
(The Carter Administration and the Evolution of American Nuclear Essay)
The Carter Administration and the Evolution of American Nuclear Essay. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1505919-the-carter-administration-and-the-evolution-of-american-nuclear-nonproliferation-policy.
“The Carter Administration and the Evolution of American Nuclear Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1505919-the-carter-administration-and-the-evolution-of-american-nuclear-nonproliferation-policy.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Carter Administration and the Evolution of American Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy

Iranian nuclear developments

None of the most popular policy options, in short, are sure bets; all are fraught with dangers.... , and what other nonproliferation goals ought to be attempted.... In the paper “Iranian nuclear developments” the author analyzes the ideas how best to restrain Tehran from building its first bomb.... hellip; The questions that countries are worried about are whether or not any strategy can prevent Iran from going nuclear, what the proper goals of such a strategy might be (deterring use, keeping Tehran from deploying weapons, getting it to dismantle its nuclear program, etc....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Nuclear Non-Proliferation

The paper "nuclear Non-Proliferation" tells us about prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).... hellip; Many theories exist on the 'why' and 'how' of nuclear proliferation such as 'classical realism' and 'neo-realism' but what is generally accepted is that the locus is external in nature.... The first school of thought, led by Kenneth Waltz are the proliferation 'optimists' in that they feel that nuclear proliferation is not necessarily a negative outcome, and that contrary to popular belief, it may even have contributed to world peace....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

The Cater Administration and the Evolution of American Nuclear Non-profileration Policy

Martinez in his article the carter administration and the evolution of american Nonproliferation Policy, 1977-1981 has analyzed the main features of Carter's non-proliferation policy.... The USA, one of the main nuclear countries in the world, waged the Cold War against the Soviet Union, and some critics of the carter administration argued that in these conditions the… The issue of the necessity of the carter administration's non-proliferation measures is very interesting and controversial....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The US Foreign Policy and Nuclear Proliferation

The fear that came out of the possibility of a nuclear war or the use of An examination of the US foreign policy in modern times highlights the significant role of nuclear weapons.... The reason is that nuclear weapons constitute an important part in the achievement of the United States foreign policy and defense policy goals.... Secondly, the American Cold War policy still has its imprint on modern foreign policy particularly in regard to the emphasis on the importance of being ready to deliver a quick and massive attack against opposing nuclear forces....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

Federalism and Administration of Policy

In the paper “Federalism and Administration of policy” the author analyzes political economic federalism.... In the american federalism system, the local governments possess most of the discretions and responsibilities for emergency and disaster management where federal organizations are envisioned to deliver monetary support and resources....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

The United Nations And the European Union

The purpose of this paper is to compare the development of UN peacekeeping and EU foreign policy since the end of the Cold War and highlight influential common factors that are responsible for these organizations' reformation.... The emergence of global terrorism, growing intrastate conflicts, rising nuclear proliferation, transformation of global political system from unipolarity to multipolarity in recent years, globalization, and growing economic inequality are some of the major common pressures which triggered developments in both the institutions....
15 Pages (3750 words) Essay

Career of Nuclear Medicine Technologist

This paper "Career of nuclear Medicine Technologist" focuses on the fact that the Certified nuclear Medicine Technologist is “a health care professional with specialized training in preparation, administration, safe handling and storage of radioactive materials.... nbsp; The purpose of this career paper is to investigate the requirements of the preparatory course for the job, examine the work profile of the nuclear medicine technologist, and study other relevant parameters of the career....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

The Nonproliferation Treaty: Nuclear Power Weapon

In the paper “The nonproliferation Treaty: Nuclear Power Weapon” the author discusses five states that own nuclear weapons under the nonproliferation Treaty including China, Russia, France, the UK, and the US.... Three other states which own nuclear weapons are India, Pakistan, and Israel.... hellip; The author states that however in the recent years it is seen that other nations are also trying to have their hands on the nuclear weapons and this can prove to be dreadful for the whole world if these weapons fall in the wrong hands....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us