Nuclearization, its impact and threats
The increasing nuclearization and the increase in the use of nuclear power in the weapon systems around the world is one of the major concerns that human civilization is facing today.
The use of atom bombs by the USA in Japan at the end of the second world war and the subsequent cold war, started an arms race among the major powers of the world at that time. The race for acquiring nuclear technology and developing a nuclear deterrence at the height of the hostile environment of the cold war culminated in testing and developing of nuclear weapons by all the permanent members of the security council during 1950s and 60s. This arms race reached its peak during the cold war when both the USA and USSR(superpowers of the time) piled up thousands of nuclear weapons which were thousand times more potent than the one used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The post cold war era saw a reduction in tensions with the USA emerging as a sole power of the new unipolar world. However this era saw renewed interests in acquisition of nuclear technology both as a source of power and as a weapon, this resulted in more and more countries acquiring nuclear capabilities which included India, Pakistan, North Korea etc.
Today with rising tensions between US and China, there is a reemergence of the threat of nuclear weaponization. The increasing assertiveness of China with its neighbors such India, Vietnam and its neighbors in south china sea creates threat of direct confrontation with USA, India and other like minded nations especially in the Indo Pacific region. China also uses its nuclear powered neighbors i.e. Pakistan and North Korea to create disturbances for its adversaries. The ever increasing tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and related issues and a complete shutdown of dialogue between the two nuclear powered neighbors is also a concern as there is an unstable military controlled government in Pakistan.
All these factors have created a rising uneasiness among the people of the world and about this rising instability and breaking of post cold war world order. However we also need to keep in mind the deterrence effect these nuclear weapons create, as they reduce the possibility of direct military conflict among major powers of the world. The mechanisms such as the Non Proliferation Treaty(NPT) which bars countries from developing nuclear weapons need to be strengthened along with more empowerment of organizations such as International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), to create a sense of security and stability.
The rising threat of nuclearization is a threat not just for a single country or a group of people but for the whole human existence. There is a need of empowering the mechanisms for dispute resolution among countries and strengthening of multinational organizations which can reflect the changing dynamics of global geopolitics. The gift of nuclear power could be better used for solving our energy problems instead of threatening each other. The onus is on us what we want from it.