By Bulletin Staff, July 6, 2017
Over the decades since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the worldwide taboo against the use of nuclear weapons drove agreements such as SALT, START and the INF Treaty. Over the last year, however, the taboo seems to be weakening: North Korea continues to test nuclear weapons, Russia is apparently re-thinking its commitment to the INF Treaty, there’s talk of a German nuclear weapon, and US president Donald Trump has wondered why, if the US has nuclear weapons, it would not use them.
The July/August issue of the Bulletin’s digital journal explores “After midnight,” an unsparing look at the aftermath of the use of nuclear weapons. Bulletin editor John Mecklin states: “In this special issue, ‘After midnight,’ top experts examine the ethics and practicalities of preparing a humanitarian response to the use of nuclear weapons, some realistic scenarios that could lead to regional nuclear weapons use—mini-Armageddons, if you will excuse the oxymoron—and various ways in which nuclear warfare might be forestalled or, in the event the unthinkable begins, stopped.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Introduction: Into the aftermath
John Mecklin
Free-access article
Interview: NUKEMAP creator Alex Wellerstein puts nuclear risk on the radar
Elisabeth Eaves
Free-access article
US cities are not medically prepared for a nuclear detonation
Jerome M. Hauer
Free-access article
The right planning now will save countless lives after a nuclear attack
Dan Hanfling, Frederick M. Burkle, Jr., and Cham Dallas
After nuclear midnight: The impacts of a nuclear war in India and Pakistan
Karthika Sasikumar
A plausible scenario of nuclear war in Europe, and how to deter it: A perspective from Estonia
Jüri Luik and Tomas Jermalavičius
Nuclear foreboding: Future shadows cast by nuclear winter
Richard Turco
Introduction: Nuclear disarmament and arms control for the next decade
Ulrich Kühn
Free-access article
Europe’s nuclear woes: Mitigating the challenges of the next years
Ulrich Kühn, Shatabhisha Shetty, and Polina Sinovets
What arguments motivate citizens to demand nuclear disarmament?
Anne I. Harrington, Eliza Gheorghe, and Anya Loukianova Fink
Nuclear disarmament summits: A proposal to break the international impasse
Kelsey Davenport, Jana Puglierin, and Petr Topychkanov
The future of US-Russian nuclear deterrence and arms control
Tatiana Anichkina, Anna Péczeli, Nickolas Roth
Amid high tensions, an urgent need for nuclear restraint
Anastasia Malygina, Sven-Eric Fikenscher, and Jenny Nielsen
Nuclear Notebook
Indian nuclear forces, 2017
Hans M. Kristensen and Robert S. Norris
Free-access article
Book Review
Preserving biodiversity, preventing climate disaster: Childish dreams or audacious strategies?
Liam Heneghan
Additional Reading
An interview with Garrett M. Graff
Elisabeth Eaves
Free-access article on the Bulletin website
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