Ward Wilson

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Ward Hayes Wilson (born April 26, 1956) is an American researcher who is the executive director of RealistRevolt, a grassroots advocacy organization in the Chicago area. He lives and works in Glenview, Illinois.

Contents

Career

Ward Hayes Wilson is a writer at “the forefront” of debates about the value and utility of nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence. [1] [2] [3] [4] He has been a senior fellow at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, BASIC (the British American Security Information Council), and the Federation of American Scientists. [5]

Wilson is best known for his argument that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not force Japan's surrender at the end of World War II. [6] Winner of the $10,000 Doreen and Jim McElvany Nonproliferation Challenge in 2008, [7] Wilson uses realist arguments to challenge existing ideas about nuclear weapons. His arguments have appeared in anti-nuclear journals he Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists [8] and Nonproliferation Review, [9] in military journals Joint Force Quarterly [10] and Parameters, [11] in foreign policy journals Foreign Policy [12] and International Security, [13] and in the New York Times, [14] the Los Angeles Times, [15] and The Nation. [16]

Wilson received a grant in 2010 to write, travel, and speak on nuclear weapons issues. [17] He presented arguments that challenge accepted ideas about nuclear weapons in 23 countries including at the Pentagon; the French National Assembly; the United Nations; the Scottish National Parliament; the U.S. State Department; Harvard; Stanford; Princeton; Georgetown; Yale; the Sorbonne; the U.S. Naval War College; King's College London; Hamburg University; Nagasaki University; University of Pretoria; the Mexican Foreign Ministry; the Belgian Parliament; the National Assembly of Costa Rica; Aberystwyth University, Wales; and Chatham House, London [18]

Wilson launched his book Five Myths About Nuclear Weapons at an event at the United Nations in February 2013. [19] He launched his second book It Is Possible: A Future Without Nuclear Weapons at the United Nations in 2023. [20]

Awards and honors

Publications

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear weapon</span> Explosive weapon that utilizes nuclear reactions

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion reactions, producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb types release large quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons</span> International treaty

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. Between 1965 and 1968, the treaty was negotiated by the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament, a United Nations-sponsored organization based in Geneva, Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear disarmament</span> Act of eliminating nuclear weapons

Nuclear disarmament is the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons. Its end state can also be a nuclear-weapons-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated. The term denuclearization is also used to describe the process leading to complete nuclear disarmament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No first use</span> Refrainment from using weapons of mass destruction unless attacked with them first

In nuclear ethics and deterrence theory, no first use (NFU) refers to a type of pledge or policy wherein a nuclear power formally refrains from the use of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in warfare, except for as a second strike in retaliation to an attack by an enemy power using WMD. Such a pledge would allow for a unique state of affairs in which a given nuclear power can be engaged in a conflict of conventional weaponry while it formally forswears any of the strategic advantages of nuclear weapons, provided the enemy power does not possess or utilize any such weapons of their own. The concept is primarily invoked in reference to nuclear mutually assured destruction but has also been applied to chemical and biological warfare, as is the case of the official WMD policy of India.

Arms control is a term for international restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. Historically, arms control may apply to melee weapons before the invention of firearm. Arms control is typically exercised through the use of diplomacy which seeks to impose such limitations upon consenting participants through international treaties and agreements, although it may also comprise efforts by a nation or group of nations to enforce limitations upon a non-consenting country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear terrorism</span> Terrorism involving nuclear material or weapons

Nuclear terrorism refers to any person or persons detonating a nuclear weapon as an act of terrorism. Some definitions of nuclear terrorism include the sabotage of a nuclear facility and/or the detonation of a radiological device, colloquially termed a dirty bomb, but consensus is lacking. In legal terms, nuclear terrorism is an offense committed if a person unlawfully and intentionally "uses in any way radioactive material … with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury; or with the intent to cause substantial damage to property or to the environment; or with the intent to compel a natural or legal person, an international organization or a State to do or refrain from doing an act", according to the 2005 United Nations International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States and weapons of mass destruction</span>

The United States is known to have possessed three types of weapons of mass destruction: nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. As the country that invented nuclear weapons, the U.S. is the only country to have used nuclear weapons on another country, when it detonated two atomic bombs over two Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. It had secretly developed the earliest form of the atomic weapon during the 1940s under the title "Manhattan Project". The United States pioneered the development of both the nuclear fission and hydrogen bombs. It was the world's first and only nuclear power for four years, from 1945 until 1949, when the Soviet Union produced its own nuclear weapon. The United States has the second-largest number of nuclear weapons in the world, after the Russian Federation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction</span>

Pakistan is one of nine states that possess nuclear weapons. Pakistan began developing nuclear weapons in January 1972 under Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who delegated the program to the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Munir Ahmad Khan with a commitment to having the device ready by the end of 1976. Since PAEC, which consisted of over twenty laboratories and projects under reactor physicist Munir Ahmad Khan, was falling behind schedule and having considerable difficulty producing fissile material, Abdul Qadeer Khan, a metallurgist working on centrifuge enrichment for Urenco, joined the program at the behest of the Bhutto administration by the end of 1974. Producing fissile material was pivotal to the Kahuta Project's success and thus to Pakistan obtaining the capability to detonate a nuclear weapon by the end of 1984.

<i>Hibakusha</i> Survivors of atomic bombings in Japan

Hibakusha is a word of Japanese origin generally designating the people affected by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States at the end of World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Africa and weapons of mass destruction</span>

From the 1960s to the 1990s, South Africa pursued research into weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons under the apartheid government. South Africa’s nuclear weapons doctrine was designed for political leverage rather than actual battlefield use, specifically to induce the United States of America to intervene in any regional conflicts between South Africa and the Soviet Union or its proxies. To achieve a minimum credible deterrence, a total of six nuclear weapons were covertly assembled by the late 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear weapons debate</span>

The nuclear weapons debate refers to the controversies surrounding the threat, use and stockpiling of nuclear weapons. Even before the first nuclear weapons had been developed, scientists involved with the Manhattan Project were divided over the use of the weapon. The only time nuclear weapons have been used in warfare was during the final stages of World War II when USAAF B-29 Superfortress bombers dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August 1945. The role of the bombings in Japan's surrender and the U.S.'s ethical justification for them have been the subject of scholarly and popular debate for decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strategic nuclear weapon</span> Nuclear weapons used on strategic targets outside of battlefields

A strategic nuclear weapon (SNW) refers to a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on targets often in settled territory far from the battlefield as part of a strategic plan, such as military bases, military command centers, arms industries, transportation, economic, and energy infrastructure, and countervalue targets such areas such as cities and towns. It is in contrast to a tactical nuclear weapon, which is designed for use in battle as part of an attack with and often near friendly conventional forces, possibly on contested friendly territory. As of 2024, strategic nuclear weapons have been used twice in the 1945 United States bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki</span> August 1945 attacks in Japan during WWII

On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. The bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict. Japan surrendered to the Allies on 15 August, six days after the bombing of Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan and invasion of Japanese-occupied Manchuria. The Japanese government signed the instrument of surrender on 2 September, effectively ending the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki</span> Controversies surrounding nuclear attacks

Substantial debate exists over the ethical, legal, and military aspects of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 August and 9 August 1945 respectively at the close of the Pacific War theater of World War II (1939–45).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle East nuclear weapon free zone</span>

The Middle East nuclear weapon free zone (MENWFZ) is a proposed agreement similar to other nuclear-weapon-free zones. Steps towards the establishment of such a zone began in the 1960s led to a joint declaration by Egypt and Iran in 1974 which resulted in a General Assembly resolution. Following the 1995 NPT Review Conference, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held a series of meetings involving experts and academics to consider ways to advance this process.

The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, often shortened to Nihon Hidankyō, is a group that represents survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was formed in 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistan–United States military relations</span> Military relations between Pakistan and the United States

The military relations between Pakistan and the United States have been present since the two established diplomatic relations in 1947. The United States and Pakistan's military have historically close ties and it was once called "America's most allied ally in Asia" by Dwight D. Eisenhower, reflecting shared interests in security and stability in South Asia, Central Asia as well as in regions covering Eastern Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Nobel Peace Prize</span> Award

The 2017 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) "for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition on such weapons," according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee announcement on October 6, 2017. The award announcement acknowledged the fact that "the world's nine nuclear-armed powers and their allies" neither signed nor supported the treaty-based prohibition known as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons or nuclear ban treaty, yet in an interview Committee Chair Berit Reiss-Andersen told reporters that the award was intended to give "encouragement to all players in the field" to disarm. The award was hailed by civil society as well as governmental and intergovernmental representatives who support the nuclear ban treaty, but drew criticism from those opposed. At the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony held in Oslo City Hall on December 10, 2017, Setsuko Thurlow, an 85-year-old woman who survived the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and ICAN Executive Director Beatrice Fihn jointly received a medal and diploma of the award on behalf of ICAN and delivered the Nobel lecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beatrice Fihn</span> Swedish lawyer (born 1982)

Beatrice Fihn is a Swedish lawyer. She was the executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) from 2014 to 1 February 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharon Dolev</span> Israeli anti-nuclear activist

Sharon Dolev is a peace and human rights activist focusing on eliminating weapons of mass destruction from the Middle East. She does this through innovations in education, advocacy and activism to change public policies. She is the founder and director of the Israeli Disarmament Movement (IDM) and a co-founder and executive director of the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO). She also worked for a time with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.

References

  1. Tertrais, Bruno, “Four Straw Men of the Apocalypse,” Survival, 2013.
  2. "The nuclear deterrence works fantasy". Daily Times. 2014-01-20. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  3. Mitra, Debasish. "Bombing Hiroshima, Nagasaki was a crime". Times of Oman. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714223326/
  4. "The deterrent that wasn't - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  5. "Ward Wilson". europeanleadershipnetwork.org. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  6. "The Winning Weapon? Rethinking Nuclear Weapons in Light of Hiroshima - Harvard - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs". 2012-08-16. Archived from the original on 2012-08-16. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  7. "Doreen and Jim McElvany Nonproliferation Challenge | The Nonproliferation Review (NPR) | James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS)". 2014-02-05. Archived from the original on 2014-02-05. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  8. "Ward Hayes Wilson". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  9. Ward Hayes Wilson. The Myth of Nuclear Deterrence, James Martin Center, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20200407040340/https://www.nonproliferation.org/wp-content/uploads/npr/153_wilson.pdf
  10. Ward Hayes Wilson, "Military Wisdom and Nuclear Weapons” Joint Force Quarterly https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/jfq/jfq-68/JFQ-68_18-24_Ward.pdf
  11. Ward Hayes Wilson “Rethinking the Utility of Nuclear Weapons” Parameters https://press.armywarcollege.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3020&context=parameters
  12. Ward Hayes Wilson. The Bomb Didn’t Beat Japan ... Stalin Did: Have 70 years of nuclear policy been based on a lie?, Foreign Policy, May 30, 2013
  13. Ward Hayes Wilson. The Winning Weapon? Rethinking Nuclear Weapons in Light of Hiroshima, International Security, 2007. Archived 2012-08-16 at the Wayback Machine
  14. Wilson, Ward (2013-01-14). "Opinion | The Myth of Nuclear Necessity". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  15. Wilson, Ward Hayes (2023-08-03). "Opinion: 'Oppenheimer' only makes it harder to control nuclear weapons". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  16. Wilson, Ward (2017-08-11). "Nuclear Deterrence Will Fail". ISSN   0027-8378 . Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  17. "Ward Wilson, Senior Fellow & Director of the Rethinking Nuclear Weapons project | BASIC - British American Security Information Council". Basicint.org. Archived from the original on 2013-05-10. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  18. "Output". Rethinkingnuclearweapons.org. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  19. "UNODA Update - Ward Wilson, author of "Five Myths About Nuclear Weapons" presents his book at the United Nations". Un.org. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  20. "UNODA and Permanent Mission of Austria hosted a First Committee Side Event: the book launch of “It is Possible: A future without nuclear weapons” by Ward Wilson” https://disarmament.unoda.org/update/unoda-and-permanent-mission-of-austria-hosted-a-first-committee-side-event-the-book-launch-of-it-is-possible-a-future-without-nuclear-weapons-by-ward-wilson/#:~:text=On%2025%20October%202023,%20the,the%20Executive%20Director%20of%20RealistRevolt
  21. University, © Stanford; Stanford; California 94305. "Four Myths About Nuclear Weapons: Hiroshima, H-Bomb, Deterrence and". cisac.fsi.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. "Previous Winners: Doreen & Jim McElvany Nonproliferation Award". James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Retrieved 2024-05-03.