... apocalyptic levels. I would like to specifically emphasize that it does not only mean the case of “Russia is losing to NATO and produces its nuclear big stick,”
other nuclear powers
also envision, both
overtly and covertly
, such ways of using nuclear weapons. So far, it is certainly difficult to imagine a situation when, say, France gets involved in the hostilities around Ukraine and suffers horrendous losses, but life is full of surprises. At the same time, given the current available forces and the
“conventional deterrence” concept
in its various forms, first there ...
... ensuring predictability and reducing the risk of armed conflicts and the threat of nuclear war. It is especially important as new technologies reduce decision time for leaders. Such a principle is also at the core of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) whose Preamble recognizes “the devastation that would be visited upon all mankind by a nuclear war and the consequent need to make every effort to avert the danger of such a war and to take measures to safeguard the security of ...
... U-235 at 3%. According to the CIA, this would make it possible to increase energy production but would not be sufficient to develop military weapons.
CIA estimates on France’s first nuclear test
In the light of all these elements, the CIA argues that France wanted to acquire nuclear weapons within at least 4-5 years. In order to do so, Paris used the CEA in coordination with the National Defense, with the CIA mentioning the name of Mr. Laurent who heads the Centre d’Études de Bruyere-le-Chatelet near Arpajon:
“It has ...
... United Kingdom, which continues to reduce its nuclear arsenal unilaterally and
where the public sentiment is largely anti-nuclear
, France enjoys a
greater popular support for nuclear deterrence
. Arguably, this is explained by historical reasons. France has always viewed nuclear weapons as a vital instrument for gaining more independence from the United States and as a guarantee that catastrophes the country faced during the First World War and in 1940 will not repeat themselves.
In the past, France always took a stand-off ...
Despite the degree of uniqueness stemming from its particular specifics, each case of nuclear weapons proliferation also exemplifies one or more of the five main determinants of a state’s decision to acquire nuclear weapons that have been identified in the relevant literature: security, domestic politics, norms, technology and economics....
