Why read The Nuclear Taboo?

Book cover of The Nuclear Taboo: The United States and the Non-Use of Nuclear Weapons Since 1945

Book description

Why have nuclear weapons not been used since Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945? Nina Tannenwald disputes the conventional answer of 'deterrence' in favour of what she calls a nuclear taboo - a widespread inhibition on using nuclear weapons - which has arisen in global politics. Drawing on newly released archival…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Nuclear Taboo as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Paul C. Avey

Author

The United States launched two nuclear strikes immediately after inventing the weapons. Since then, no country has used nuclear weapons in a conflict. The Nuclear Taboo is the most important book we have on the role that norms surrounding nuclear weapons play in constraining nuclear use. Tannenwald traces the subtle shifts from a norm of use to one in which the thought of nuclear strikes is seen as appalling. The story moves across governments, non-governmental experts and activists, and the public as each grappled with nuclear weapons and one another. I go back to it again and again…

From Paul's list on The best books on nuclear weapons’ implications for international politics.