So, I was watching a YouTube video (Two Minutes Till Midnight by Aperture) and it in, he said that if two superpowers like the Untied States and Russia ever go to war and use nuclear weapons, that’s it for humans. If they did this, they would both go all out and try to cause as much destruction as possible to each other. So, why are nuclear weapons not banned when they have the capacity to destroy all life on Earth?
Edit: Thanks for the quick responses. I feel I get it a little better now. Have a good day!
In: Technology
“ban them” lol
those are the words spoken by people who have little understanding of how the world works. who will ban them? and how? in order for a ban, or *any* kind of law, to be worth anything, it needs to be enforced. someone and something has to have the capabilities to enforce the law, otherwise that law is nothing more than words on paper.
in geopolitics, there is no greater power than the nation state. the geopolitical world between nation states is literally a free for fall, where every nation is responsible for protecting and defending its national interests and security, both from natural forces and from other nation states. a nation state cant call the cops on another nation if they do something they don’t like, because there is no higher authority than the nation state. it would be up to that nation state to respond in a way it sees fit, according to its national capabilities.
certain nation states maintain a nuclear arsenal for deterrence. russia would never dare nuke the usa, because russia knows that the usa would nuke them back and vice versa. and for nations like the usa, russia, france, the uk, china, etc… there is very little other nations can do to stop them from doing something they want, because they are the overall most powerful states on the planet.
so, a nation like zimbabwe demands all nuclear weapons are disarmed and dismantled, and declare them to be banned… and now what? what does that mean in practice?
it means jack shit, and a weak nation state like zimbabwe is in absolutely zero condition to demand anything from any nation. they do not have the capabilities to enforce their demands, and so, they are ignored, especially by the united states of america, the most dominant and powerful nation state on the planet by a wide margin. america has its own national interests to look after, and maintaining a large nuclear arsenal, with a plethora of delivery capabilities, is among the many national interests of the worlds only superpower.
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