THE PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND THE ARMS RACE: THE POST-WAR DETERIORATION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN UNITED STATES AND SOVIET UNION 1949 – 1964
Chukwu C. James
ABSTRACT
Nuclear weapons were first created over 70 years ago. They were used for the first time in battle at the tail end of the Second World War in 1945. At the height of the Cold War, the two superpowers (The United States of America and the then Soviet Union) who were mutually hostile to each other, pointed nuclear warheads at each other’s capital cities and also placed, these weapons at each other’s doorstep. Soon other countries acquired the technology to manufacture nuclear weapons, thereby causing instability in the international community, with its security implications. Amidst this backdrop and turbulence came the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an initiative of the two superpowers, who were increasingly getting alarmed at the rate at which the technology for developing nuclear weapons was spreading. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the sole international Organisation charged with preventing nuclear proliferation. In its over 60 years of existence, it has succeeded in preventing other countries except for those that have already tested and acquired nuclear weapons from obtaining and proliferating nuclear weapons and the technology to assemble one. This , however has not been easy as the IAEA is confronted yearly with dynamic challenges, some of which have threatened the security and stability of the world. The IAEA thus plays a significant role in preventing nuclear proliferation and it would continue to play this role in the foreseeable future.
Keywords: Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Arms Race, United States and Soviet Union
ENDNOTES
[1] P. Radvanyi, J. Villain, “The discovery of radioactivity”, Comptes Rendus Physique 18 (2017) 544, doi.org/10.1016ij.crhy.2017.10.008.
[1] K. A. Opuware, J. C. Chukwu, “International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Nuclear Non-Proliferation: An Assessment”, The International Scholar Journal of Arts, 1(1) 2018,
[1] Kramish Amold, The Peaceful Atom in Foreign Policy, New York: Dell Publishing Co. 1963, 232.
[1] Amold, The Peaceful Atom in Foreign Policy… 232.
[1] Amold, The Peaceful Atom in Foreign Policy… 233.
[1] P. K.Huth, “Deterrence and International Conflict: Empirical Findings and Theoretical Debate”, Annual Review of Political Science, 1999, pp. 25–48,
[1] J. C. Chukwu, “Contentions in Sino-Soviet Relations 1959-1973” Interdisciplinary Journal of African & Asian Studies, 7(2) 2021, 177.
[1] J. C. Chukwu, “Ideological Warfare: Cuban Missile Crisis and its effects on International Peace 1959 – 1962”, Nigeria Police Academy Historical Review, 5(2) 2021, 90.
[1] J. C. Chukwu, “United States of America abd Soviet Union Relations: The Influence of the Cold War Over Berlin 1958-1961“ Nigerian Journal of Arts and Humanities (NJAH) 1(1) 2021, 162.
[1] M. H. Cooper, “Nuclear Proliferation and Terrorism”, The CQ Research, 14(13) 2004 301.
[1] Cooper, “Nuclear Proliferation… 301.
[1] Cooper, “Nuclear Proliferation… 301.
[1][1] Norman Lowe, Mastering Modern World History, 3rd Ed. New Hamphire: Palgrave Publishing Co., 1997, 123.
[1] Cooper, “Nuclear Proliferation… 301.
[1] J. C. Chukwu, “War of Nerves between United States of America abd Soviet Union Relations on International Peace 1949-1975” International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research (IJSSHR) 5(3) 2022, 777.
[1] Cooper, “Nuclear Proliferation… 301.
[1] Jan Lodding and Tariq Rauf, “IAEA and NPT: The verification Challenge”, IAEA Buttetin, 46(2) 2005, 21.
[1] Lodding and Rauf, “IAEA and NPT:… 21.
[1] Lodding and Rauf, “IAEA and NPT:… 22.
[1] Lodding and Rauf, “IAEA and NPT:… 25.
[1] Mohammed EL Baradei, “Saving Ourselves from Self-Destruction”, The New York Times, February 12, 2004, A. 37.
[1] “US Foreign Policy Agenda”, Electronic Journal of the US Department of State, Vol. 7, No. 3, July 2002, 10.