I cannot predict what will happen in Ukraine. But if the threat to use nuclear weapons leads to the actual use of them, the consequences will be catastrophic beyond description. By improving the capacity of their arsenals, deploying new weapons, and maintaining nuclear first-use policies — all the while voicing aggressive threats – some nuclear-weapons states are bringing us dangerously close to the brink. By adopting policies barring the first use of nuclear weapons and NWSs (nuclear weapon states) would help avoid a disaster. Such a move would be consistent with US President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and it would reinforce the shift from overemphasising military nationalism to stressing global human security and cooperation.
After a tumultuous year that was defined by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the return of the nuclear threat, rising tensions between global powers, knockon economic and humanitarian crises, and continued paralysis on the part of many global-governance bodies, this quarter, Project Syndicate’s contributors were asked to respond — agreeing or disagreeing — to the following proposition: “After a year marked by war and geopolitical conflict, peacemaking and diplomacy will stage a recovery in 2023.”
Oscar Arias
