International Atomic Energy Agency
Nuclear Weapons
The first nuclear weapons were created during the Second World War through a joint
project between the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Canada called the
Manhattan Project. During the war, two different types of nuclear weapons were created, a
uranium based, gun-type fission weapon, and a plutonium based, implosion-type fission bomb.
Both operated on the same principle, in that the explosion was the release of the large quantities
of energy created by nuclear fission, the separation of a nucleus. One of each type of bomb was
used in the bombing of Japan in 1945, the gun-type fission weapon, “Little Boy”, was dropped
on Hiroshima, and the implosion-type weapon, “Fat Man”, was dropped on Nagasaki. Shortly
thereafter, in 1949, the USSR announced that it had successfully detonated an implosion-type
bomb, beginning a nuclear arms race and, therefore, the Cold War. From then on, up until the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, nuclear tests and non-proliferation talks continued. However,
even though multiple conflicts occurred during this period and tensions ran high, nuclear
weapons were never used in a war after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, believed to be because of the
principle of mutually assured destruction (MAD). This principle states that if a nuclear war
between two states owning nuclear weapons should break out, both sides would be utterly
obliterated in the resulting nuclear holocaust.
So far, there have only been eight sovereign states that have successfully detonated a
nuclear weapon and of these eight, five are considered to be “nuclear weapon states” (NWS) as
designated by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT); the NWS are the
United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia. In addition, there are
three other states with successful detonation that are also non-signatories of the NPT, that being
India, Pakistan, and North Korea. It is also theorized that Israel has nuclear weapons, however
their statements follow the tactic of strategic ambiguity, deterring other countries from a hostile
conflict while minimizing the political backlash that comes with owning nuclear weapons,
allowing for only speculation as to the quantity and quality of their nuclear armament. It should
also be noted that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has a nuclear weapons sharing
program, providing U.S. nuclear weapons to Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, and
Turkey, however, these weapons can only be activated with launch codes held by the U.S. Air
Force. This nuclear sharing is under scrutiny however, as some believe that the NPT does not
allow “NWS to delegate the control of their nuclear weapons directly or indirectly to others”
(ISSI - NPT in 2000: Challenges Ahead), while others say that since these weapons are “under
constant and complete custody and control of the United States” (NATO's Positions Regarding
Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Arms Control and Disarmament and Related Issues), they are well
within the purviews of the NPT. There are also other states who had nuclear weapons previously
but no longer have them due to differing reasons; South Africa voluntarily disarmed their six
nuclear weapons in the early 90’s, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine all had nuclear weapons
from the USSR stationed in their territory, similar to the NATO weapons sharing, and, when the
USSR collapsed, they all either transferred their weapons to Russia or had them dismantled. All
four of these nations would later sign the NPT, after their disarmament.
Questions to Consider:
1. Does your country currently have nuclear weapons or ever have nuclear weapons
in the past?
2. Has your country signed the NPT or any other similar treaties?
Other Sources:
1. http://www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/NPT.shtml
2. http://www.britannica.com/event/Manhattan-Project
3. http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Nuclearweaponswhohaswhat