Beyond Emboldenment: The Effects of Nuclear Weapons on State Foreign Policy

The Canadian Liberal government of Justin Trudeau claims to be ushering in a new era of a “feminist” foreign policy. While serious steps have been taken in this direction, this paper focuses on the government’s opposition to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, a treaty that has been negotiated with a logic and language explicitly linking issues of disarmament and gender, reframing “security” as fundamentally a question not of state but of human (and environmental) security. Ignoring its own public statements that repeatedly link women with peace and security, the Trudeau government’s opposition to the Treaty exposes the hollowness of its claims.

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Seminar On Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy

International Studies ◽

10.1177/002088176700900203 ◽

1967 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 151-182

Author(s):

M.L. Sondhi

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

Nuclear Weapons

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Foreign Policy Decision Making: The Case of Canada and Nuclear Weapons

World Politics ◽

10.2307/2010046 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 29-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Howard H. Lentner

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Foreign Policy ◽

Nuclear Weapons ◽

Political Process ◽

Policy Decision ◽

Chief Executive ◽

Political Values ◽

Political Analysis ◽

Policy Decision Making ◽

The Government

Foreign policy decision making is the result of a complex political process in which the political values and style of the chief executive play a large part. The case of Canada's decision, in 1963, to acquire nuclear weapons illustrates that external events and pressures generated by Canada's international obligations were processed through complex political interactions. The Government of Prime Minister Diefenbaker was unable to take the nuclear weapons decision because of two splits in the Cabinet, only one of which was pertinent to nuclear weapons policy. The decision was taken by Leader of the Opposition Pearson alone and in conformity with his personal values, because of his political style which commanded deference. The approach used combines historical detail with political analysis.

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Nuclear Weapons in Kennedy's Foreign Policy

Historian ◽

10.1111/j.1540-6563.1994.tb01309.x ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 56 (2) ◽

pp. 285-300 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Philip Nash

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

Nuclear Weapons

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Nuclear Weapons in Foreign Policy

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.457 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Molly Berkemeier ◽

Matthew Fuhrmann

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

Nuclear Weapons ◽

Nuclear Proliferation ◽

Academic Research ◽

World Politics ◽

International Peace ◽

Dual Use ◽

Coercive Diplomacy ◽

Nuclear Strategy

This essay reviews academic research on the role of nuclear weapons in foreign policy. It begins by discussing the “Theory of the Nuclear Revolution,” which holds that nuclear weapons revolutionized world politics due to their overwhelming destructive capacity. The article then identifies several ways in which this theory has been challenged in scholarship. The article focuses in particular on four big debates in the literature on nuclear weapons and foreign policy: Does nuclear proliferation promote international peace and stability? Are nuclear weapons useful for coercive diplomacy? Do nuclear weapons make countries more assertive? How does nuclear strategy influence deterrence and security? After discussing these debates, the article concludes by calling for more research on the implications of dual-use nuclear technology for foreign policy and international security.

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What Do Nuclear Weapons Offer States? A Theory of State Foreign Policy Response to Nuclear Acquisition

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2566293 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Mark S Bell

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

Nuclear Weapons ◽

Policy Response ◽

Nuclear Acquisition

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Nuclear Ambiguity and International Status

India and the Cold War ◽

10.5149/northcarolina/9781469651163.003.0007 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 126-150

Author(s):

Rohan Mukherjee

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

United Nations ◽

Nuclear Weapons ◽

Nuclear Proliferation ◽

Policy Goal ◽

Special Position ◽

Best Response ◽

The Status ◽

The 1960S ◽

International Status

India’s abstinence from nuclear weapons through the 1960s continues to puzzle political scientists who study the causes of nuclear proliferation and historians who study India’s specific path to nuclear weapons. This chapter argues that India’s nuclear interregnum of the 1960s is best explained by understanding the status benefits that nuclear ambiguity as a component of a non-aligned foreign policy bestowed upon India. India’s best response to an external nuclear threat and internal domestic pressure to build the bomb was not to actually go nuclear but rather to publicly keep the option open while simultaneously pushing for disarmament as a serious foreign policy goal. This strategy gave India a special position in the international community as a scientifically advanced and potentially powerful yet essentially peaceful nation. Nowhere was this clearer than in India’s contribution to debates in the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament (ENCD) convened by the United Nations between 1962 and 1969.

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