In her article “How strong is the nuclear taboo today?”, the author Nina Tannewald discusses the “taboo” that currently surrounds nuclear weapons and their usage, particularly their usage against states without nuclear weapons. In her article, Tannenwald articulates her belief that this taboo has helped humanity thus far avoid an apocalyptic nuclear war. She discusses how the characteristically reckless Trump administration has softened the effect of this taboo through the use of aggressive rhetoric threatening the usage of nuclear weapons. The author specifically points to his verbal duel with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
In case you were unaware, Joe Biden has defeated Trump in the 2020 presidential elections. In my opinion this is great news for people who do not want to see humanity destroyed in nuclear fire because I believe that a Biden administration would work to undo a lot of the damage Trump has done to international norms including the nuclear taboo.
Harry,
Biden won? Really? Such good news! 🙂 The BAD news is that Donald Trump will have access to the “nuclear football” (which is the term used to describe the briefcase containing the nuclear launch codes) for another 71 days. And he has unilateral power to order the launch of a nuclear strike. This is something that the Congress may wish to change. And then, of course, there is all the damage that he has done to our relations with the other nuclear weapons states, including Russia. Meanwhile, there is still no announced agreement on the sole remaining nuclear arms agreement–START II–which expires just weeks after Biden takes office.
–Professor Wallerstein