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.
The People's Republic of China has developed and possesses weapons of mass destruction,including chemical and nuclear weapons. The first of China's nuclear weapons tests took place in 1964,and its first hydrogen bomb test occurred in 1966 at Lop Nur. Tests continued until 1996,when the country signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT),but did not ratify it. China acceded to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in 1984 and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1997.
Deterrence theory refers to the scholarship and practice of how threats of using force by one party can convince another party to refrain from initiating some other course of action. The topic gained increased prominence as a military strategy during the Cold War with regard to the use of nuclear weapons and is related to but distinct from the concept of mutual assured destruction,according to which a full-scale nuclear attack on a power with second-strike capability would devastate both parties. The central problem of deterrence revolves around how to credibly threaten military action or nuclear punishment on the adversary despite its costs to the deterrer. Deterrence in an international relations context is the application of deterrence theory to avoid conflict.
Jon Wolfsthal is an American security analyst currently serving as director of global risk at the Federation of American Scientists.
The Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) is a process “to determine what the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. security strategy should be.”NPRs are the primary document for determining U.S. strategy for nuclear weapons and it outlines an overview of U.S. nuclear capabilities,changes to current stockpiles and capabilities,plans for deterrence,and plans for arms control policy with other nations.
David E. Sanger is an American journalist who is the chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times,writing since 1982,covering foreign policy,globalization,nuclear proliferation,and the presidency.
The 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff was a military standoff between India and Pakistan that resulted in the mass mobilisation of both nations' military forces along the India-Pakistan border and the disputed region of Kashmir. This was the second major military standoff between the two countries since they both publicly declared their nuclear capabilities.
Omar Tomas Wasow is an assistant professor in UC Berkeley’s Department of Political Science. He is co-founder of the social networking website BlackPlanet.
Scott Douglas Sagan is the Caroline S.G. Munro Professor of Political Science at Stanford University and co-director of Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC). He is known for his research on nuclear weapons policy and nuclear disarmament,including discussions of system accidents,and has published widely on these subjects.
Victor D. Cha is an American political scientist.
The Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts,generally known as NYU Skirball, is an 850-seat theater at 566 LaGuardia Place in Manhattan,New York,owned by New York University. It was named after philanthropist Jack H. Skirball. The theatre was completed in October 2003 and cost approximately $40 million. The architect was Kevin Roche,John Dinkeloo and Associates. The institution typically presents two seasons of curated public performances,talks,and events per year.
The Center for the National Interest is a Washington,D.C.-based public policy think tank. It was established by former U.S. President Richard Nixon on January 20,1994,as the Nixon Center for Peace and Freedom.
French–Iraq relations are the relations between France and Iraq. France played a major role in Iraqi secession from the Ottoman Empire and eventual freedom from British colonial status. The Franco-Iraqi relationship is often defined by conflict and peace,with France supporting Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War,supporting intervention in Iraq in Operation Desert Storm,and opposing the 2003 U.S. Invasion of Iraq. As of 2004,Iraq maintains an embassy in Paris and France maintains an embassy in Baghdad and a consulate general in Erbil.
This timeline of nuclear weapons development is a chronological catalog of the evolution of nuclear weapons rooting from the development of the science surrounding nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. In addition to the scientific advancements,this timeline also includes several political events relating to the development of nuclear weapons. The availability of intelligence on recent advancements in nuclear weapons of several major countries is limited because of the classification of technical knowledge of nuclear weapons development.
Brian H. Hook is an American diplomat,lawyer and government official. In 2021,he joined Cerberus Capital Management as vice chairman for global investments. He is an adjunct professor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.
Benjamin J. Rhodes is an American writer,political commentator and former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting under President Barack Obama. With Jake Sullivan,he is the co-chair of National Security Action,a political NGO. He contributes to NBC News and MSNBC regularly as a political commentator. He is also a Crooked Media contributor,and co-host of the foreign policy podcast Pod Save the World.
Jeffrey Lewis is an American expert in nuclear nonproliferation and geopolitics,currently a professor at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey,and director of the CNS East Asia Nonproliferation Program. He has written two books on China's nuclear weapons,and numerous journal and magazine articles,blog posts,and podcasts on nonproliferation and related topics.
Matthew Kroenig is an American political scientist and national security strategist currently serving as vice president of the Atlantic Council and professor in the Department of Government and the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Kroenig is known for his research on international security and nuclear weapons.
Seva Gunitsky is an American political scientist. He is an associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on the ways global forces and international politics affect democracy and domestic politics. He is the author of Aftershocks:Great Powers and Domestic Reforms in the Twentieth Century,which examines how shocks in the international system affect regime types. The book was selected by Foreign Affairs magazine as one of the best books of 2017. He has also published commentary and analysis in The Washington Post,Foreign Affairs,and The New Republic. Gunitsky is a frequent commentator on Russian politics and foreign policy.
Christine Ahn is a Korean-American peace activist who serves as the Executive Director of Women Cross DMZ,an organization of women advocating for an end to the Korean War. In 2015,she led 30 international women peacemakers across the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) from North Korea to South Korea. She is also the 2020 winner of the US Peace Prize for her work for peace on the Korean peninsula and her advocacy for women's leadership in peace-building efforts.
