No first use

In nuclear ethics and deterrence theory, no first use (NFU) refers to a type of pledge or policy wherein a nuclear power formally refrains from the use of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in warfare, except for as a second strike in retaliation to an attack by an enemy power using WMD. Such a pledge would allow for a unique state of affairs in which a given nuclear power can be engaged in a conflict of conventional weaponry while it formally forswears any of the strategic advantages of nuclear weapons, provided the enemy power does not possess or utilize any such weapons of their own. The concept is primarily invoked in reference to nuclear mutually assured destruction but has also been applied to chemical and biological warfare, as is the case of the official WMD policy of India.[1][2]

China and India are currently the only two nuclear powers to formally maintain a no first use policy, adopting pledges in 1964 and 1998 respectively. Both NATO and a number of its member states have repeatedly rejected calls for adopting a NFU policy,[3] as during the lifetime of the Soviet Union a pre-emptive nuclear strike was commonly argued as a key option to afford NATO a credible nuclear deterrent, compensating for the overwhelming conventional weapon superiority enjoyed by the Soviet Army in Eurasia.[4][5] In 1993, Russia dropped a pledge against first use of nuclear weapons made in 1982 by Leonid Brezhnev,[6] with Russian military doctrine later stating in 2000 that Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons "in response to a large-scale conventional aggression".[7] Pakistan has also made similar statements, largely in reference to intermittent military tensions with India. North Korea has publicly pledged to refrain from a preemptive nuclear strike, while threatening retaliation up to and including WMD against conventional aggression.

Countries pledging no-first-use[edit]

China[edit]

China became the first nuclear-weapon state to make public its NFU pledge, when it first gained nuclear capabilities in 1964, and the only state as of 2018 "to maintain an unconditional NFU pledge".[8] In other words, it has undertaken "not to be the first to use nuclear weapons at any time or under any circumstances" and "not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against any non-nuclear-weapons states or nuclear-weapon-free zones at any time or under any circumstances".[9] During the Cold War, China decided to keep the size of its nuclear arsenal small, rather than compete in an international nuclear arms race with the United States and the Soviet Union.[10][11] China has repeatedly reaffirmed its no-first-use policy in recent years, doing so in 2005, 2008, 2009 and again in 2011. China has also consistently called on the United States to adopt a no-first-use policy, to reach an NFU agreement bilaterally with China, and to conclude an NFU agreement among the five nuclear weapon states. In its statement during a UN Security Council meeting in 2023, China reiterated its non-first use stance and support for the Non-Proliferation Treaty, adding its rejection of any attacks against nuclear weapons facilities and power plants.[12]

India[edit]

India first adopted a "no first use" policy after its second series of nuclear tests, Pokhran-II, in 1998. In August 1999, the Indian government released a draft of the doctrine[13] which asserts that nuclear weapons are solely for deterrence and that India will pursue a policy of "retaliation only". The document also maintains that India "will not be the first to initiate a nuclear first strike, but will respond with punitive retaliation should deterrence fail" and that decisions to authorise the use of nuclear weapons would be made by the prime minister or his "designated successor(s)".[13] According to the National Research Development Corporation, despite the escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan in 2001–2002, India remained committed to its nuclear no-first-use policy.[14][full citation needed] India is in the process of developing a nuclear doctrine based on "credible minimum deterrence".

In a speech at the National Defence College by India's National Security Advisor, Shivshankar Menon, on October 21, 2010, the wording was changed from "no first use" to "no first use against non-nuclear weapon states",[15] but some argued that it was not a substantive change but "an innocent typographical or lexical error in the text of the speech".[16] In April 2013, Shyam Saran, convener of the National Security Advisory Board, affirmed that regardless of the size of a nuclear attack against India, be it a tactical nuclear weapon or a strategic nuclear weapon, India would retaliate massively.[17] That was in response to reports that Pakistan had developed a tactical battlefield nuclear weapon in an attempt to supposedly nullify an Indian "no first use" retaliatory doctrine.[18] In April 2014, before the general elections, Prime Minister Modi reiterated commitment to a no-first-use policy.[19] On November 10, 2016, the Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar questioned the no-first-use policy of India, and asked why should India "bind" itself when it is a "responsible nuclear power". He clarified that it was his personal opinion.[20]

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, speaking on the anniversary of the death of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on August 16, 2019, said that India's no-first-use policy might change depending upon the "circumstances". Vajpayee's government conducted the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998.[21]

Countries against no-first-use policy[edit]

Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States,[22] and France[23] say that they will use nuclear weapons against either nuclear or non-nuclear states only in the case of invasion or other attack against their territory or against one of their allies. Historically, NATO military strategy, taking into account the numerical superiority of Warsaw Pact conventional forces, assumed that tactical nuclear weapons would have to be used to defeat a Soviet invasion.[24][full citation needed][25]

At the 16th NATO summit in April 1999, Germany proposed that NATO adopt a no-first-use policy, but the proposal was rejected.[26] In 2022, leaders of the five NPT nuclear-weapon states issued a statement on prevention of nuclear war, saying "We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."[27]

Soviet Union/Russia[edit]

In its final years, the Soviet Union adopted a formal no-first-use in 1982 when Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko read out at the United Nations a pledge by General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev not to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike.[28] However, this pledge was not taken seriously, and later leaked Soviet Armed Forces documents confirmed that the military had plans for a pre-emptive nuclear strike and considered launching one during the Able Archer 83 crisis.[8][29][30] After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation formally reversed this policy in 1993 due to the weakness of the Russian Armed Forces in the post-Soviet era.[8][31] Russia describes its entire military doctrine as defensive military doctrine. With regard to nuclear weapons specifically, Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons:

  • in response to the use of nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction against it or its allies, and also
  • in case of aggression against Russia with the use of conventional weapons when the very existence of the state is threatened.[32]

The military doctrine of 2014 did not depart from this stance.[33] The 2020 Presidential Executive Order on Nuclear Deterrence in Article 4 uses the following wording: "deterrence of a potential adversary from aggression against the Russian Federation and/or its allies. In the event of a military conflict, this Policy provides for the prevention of an escalation of military actions and their termination on conditions that are acceptable for the Russian Federation and/or its allies."[34] This has been interpreted as describing non-nuclear scenarios where Russia might use nuclear weapons to achieve its military goals.[35] During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, observers expressed concern that Russia would preemptively use tactical nuclear weapons after President Vladimir Putin announced the mobilization of Russian nuclear forces to "combat-ready" status.[36] In December 2022, Putin claimed that Russia would not be the first to use nuclear weapons or the second, and that "Russian nuclear doctrine is premised on self-defense."[37][38][39]

Russia and China do maintain a mutual agreement to have a no first use policy which was developed under the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. Under the second paragraph of article two, China and Russia agreed that "The contracting parties reaffirm their commitment that they will not be the first to use nuclear weapons against each other nor target strategic nuclear missiles against each other."[40]

United Kingdom[edit]

In March 2002, the Secretary of State for Defence Geoff Hoon stated that the UK was prepared to use nuclear weapons against "rogue states" such as Ba'athist Iraq if they ever used "weapons of mass destruction" against British Armed Forces troops in the field.[41] This policy was restated in February 2003 and again under the Ministry of Defence's Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010.[8][42] In April 2017 Defence Secretary Michael Fallon confirmed that the UK would use nuclear weapons in a "pre-emptive initial strike" in "the most extreme circumstances".[43] Fallon stated in a parliamentary answer that the UK has neither a 'first use' or 'no first use' in its nuclear weapon policy so that its adversaries would not know when the UK would launch nuclear strikes.[44]

United States[edit]

The United States has refused to adopt a no first use policy and says that it "reserves the right to use" nuclear weapons first in the case of conflict. This was partially to provide a nuclear umbrella over its allies in NATO as a deterrent against a conventional Warsaw Pact attack during the Cold War, and NATO continues to oppose a no-first-use policy.[8][45] Not only did the United States and NATO refuse to adopt a no first use policy, but until 1967 they maintained a nuclear doctrine of "massive retaliation" in which nuclear weapons would explicitly be used to defend North America or Western Europe against a conventional attack. Although this strategy was revised, they both reserved the right to use nuclear weapons first under the new doctrine of "flexible response".[46]

Released on April 6, 2010, the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review reduces the role of U.S. nuclear weapons: "The fundamental role of U.S. nuclear weapons, which will continue as long as nuclear weapons exist, is to deter nuclear attack on the United States, our allies, and partners." The U.S. doctrine also includes the following assurance to other states: "The United States will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapons states that are party to the NPT and in compliance with their nuclear non-proliferation obligations."[47]

For states eligible for the assurance, the United States would not use nuclear weapons in response to a chemical or biological attack but states that those responsible for such an attack would be held accountable and would face the prospect of a devastating conventional military response. Even for states that are not eligible for the assurance, the United States would consider the use of nuclear weapons only in extreme circumstances to defend the vital interests of the United States or its allies and partners. The Nuclear Posture Review also notes, "It is in the U.S. interest and that of all other nations that the nearly 65-year record of nuclear non-use be extended forever."[47]

This supersedes the doctrine of the George W. Bush administration set forth in "Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations" and written under the direction of Air Force General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. That now superseded doctrine envisioned commanders requesting presidential approval to use nuclear weapons to preempt an attack by a nation or a terrorist group using weapons of mass destruction.[48] The now superseded doctrine also included the option of using nuclear weapons to destroy known enemy stockpiles of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons.

In August 2016, President Barack Obama reportedly considered adopting a no first use policy.[49][50][51] Obama was persuaded by several Cabinet officials such as Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, and Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz that 'no first use' would rattle U.S. allies and decided not to take up the policy.[52][5]

During the 2017–2018 North Korea crisis, there were efforts to either require congressional approval for a pre-emptive nuclear strike[53] or to ban it altogether and impose an NFU policy.[54] The Senate Foreign Relations Committee chaired by Bob Corker held its first meeting on the President's authority to use nuclear weapons in 41 years.[55] Since 2017, Ted Lieu, Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren, and Adam Smith all introduced bills to limit the President's ability to order a pre-emptive nuclear strike.[56][57] Calls to limit the President of the United States' ability to unilaterally launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike increased after the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[58][59][60] During the 2020 United States presidential election the eventual victor Joe Biden expressed support for a "sole purpose" declaration confirming that the only use of U.S. nuclear weapons would be as a deterrent, although this is distinct from a "no first use" declaration identifying that the United States would not unilaterally use them.[61][62][63]

Pakistan[edit]

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shamshad Ahmad warned that if Pakistan is ever invaded or attacked, it will use "any weapon in its arsenal" to defend itself.[64]

Pakistan refuses to adopt a no first use doctrine and indicates that it would launch nuclear weapons even if the other side did not use such weapons first. Pakistan's asymmetric nuclear posture has significant influence on India's ability to retaliate, as shown in 2001 and 2008 crises, when non-state actors carried out deadly terrorist attacks on India, only to be met with a relatively subdued response from India. A military spokesperson stated that "Pakistan's threat of nuclear first-use deterred India from seriously considering conventional military strikes."[65]

Pakistan's National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz defended the policy of first use.[66] Aziz stated that Pakistan's first use doctrine is entirely deterrent in nature. He explained that it was effective after the 2001 Indian Parliament attack and argued that if Pakistan had a no first use policy, there would have been a major war between the two countries.[66]

North Korea[edit]

North Korea's stated policy position is that nuclear weapons "will never be abused or used as a means for preemptive strike", but if there is an "attempt to have recourse to military force against us" North Korea may use their "most powerful offensive strength in advance to punish them".[67]

Israel[edit]

Although Israel does not officially confirm or deny having nuclear weapons, the country is widely believed to be in possession of them. Its continued ambiguous stance puts it in a difficult position since to issue a statement pledging 'no first use' would confirm their possession of nuclear weapons.

Israel has said that it "would not be the first country in the Middle East to formally introduce nuclear weapons into the region".[68]

If Israel's very existence is threatened, some speculate that Israel would use a "Samson Option", a "last resort" deterrence strategy of massive retaliation with nuclear weapons, should the State of Israel be substantially damaged and/or near destruction.[69][70][71] According to Israeli historian Avner Cohen, Israel's policy on nuclear weapons, which was set down in 1966, revolves around four "red lines" which could lead to an Israeli nuclear response:

Rationale[edit]

Debates in the international community on strategic no-first-use of nuclear weapons include legal, ethical, moral and political arguments from intergovernmental organizations, regional blocs, non-governmental organizations and civil society actors as well as countries.[8][72]: 3–26  In 2023, former IPPNW program director John Loretz wrote: "With the risk of nuclear war greater than at any time since the Cold War of the 1980s (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 2023)—exacerbated even further by the prolonged war in Ukraine—it comes as no surprise that academics, diplomats, and nuclear strategists are focusing anew on risk reduction proposals. One idea that has been in circulation for some time is a global-no-first-use agreement (GNFU), with unilateral or bilateral NFUs as another option."[73]

According to SIPRI's 1984 analysis, first use of nuclear weapons as a right of self-defense in warfare is the "most controversial" under international law—a right, in their view, not unlimited. Highlighted also were the views of "religious, political and military authorities" who questioned a first-use doctrine. SIPRI concluded that a meaningful no-first-use declaration "would have to be accompanied—or preferably preceded—by changes in the deployment of both nuclear and conventional forces".[72]: 6, 23–24 

Sparking debate with their 1982 Foreign Affairs article, former US national security advisor McGeorge Bundy, US diplomat George F. Kennan, former US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and US lead negotiator for the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Gerard C. Smith challenged the US and the Atlantic Alliance "to consider the possibilities, the requirements, the difficulties, and the advantages of a policy of no-first-use" and urged that citizens, too, consider these policy questions. The authors believed that fully exploring NFU as a strategy and policy would reveal greater advantages than costs and "help the peoples and governments of the Alliance to find the political will to move in this direction". They called "both fear and mistrust ... the most immediate enemies", arguing that: "The Soviet government has repeatedly offered to join the West in declaring such a policy, and while such declarations may have only limited reliability, it would be wrong to disregard the real value to both sides of a jointly declared adherence to this policy." They also maintained that an NFU posture and policy "could help to open the path toward serious reduction of nuclear armaments on both sides", cautioning that "[a]s long as the weapons themselves exist, the possibility of use will remain."[74]: 32, 35, 37, 39–40 

In the context of Japan's reliance on US extended deterrence, former Japanese diplomat, director of JIIA's Center for the Promotion of Disarmament and Nonproliferation (2008–2014) and commissioner of the Japanese Atomic Energy Commission (2014–2017) Nobuyasu Abe in 2018 called for re-examining the role of nuclear weapons alongside the non-nuclear military situation in the regional security environment to bridge the "great divide between idealists and realists" on adopting a no-first-use policy. He described the political divide in Japan as the skepticism of the Japanese government, the ruling LDP, and "center/right conservatives" on the one hand, and the support of the ruling coalition's junior partner Komeito, opposition parties, and "left/center anti-nuclear idealists" on the other.[75]: 138, 144, 148  In its analysis of South Korea's reliance on US extended deterrence, the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in January 2022 wrote that, were the US to adopt an NFU position, the credibility of its extended deterrence would be diminished.[76] The institute's public attitudes survey findings, published in May 2023, include naming North Korea as the most pressing security concern, followed by China.[77] In its November 2017 policy brief, the European Council on Foreign Relations concluded that North Korea's posture is one of "nuclear pre-emption" and its government "concerned that a first strike could destroy it"; in contrast, China pursues "what Beijing calls 'nuclear counterstrike campaigns'", having declared its NFU doctrine out of the belief "that neither its government nor its nuclear arsenal could be eliminated in a first strike by a hostile power".[78] And in the foreground of strained relations between South Korea and Japan, stemming from Japan's 1910–1945 occupation of Korea, the June 2023 trilateral meeting of the countries' military chiefs signaled closer nuclear strategy consultation at the urging of their US counterpart.[79]

Nonresident Senior Fellows in Brookings's Center for East Asia Policy Studies Richard C. Bush and Jonathan D. Pollack in 2016 noted that "non-nuclear states living in the shadow of nuclear-armed adversaries" are willing to forego developing their own nuclear arms because of US security guarantees, and that adopting an NFU doctrine "would represent a profound shift" in those guarantees.[80] Co-founder Keith B. Payne and Research Scholar Michaela Dodge of the National Institute for Public Policy in 2023 noted that for decades "US allies" have continued to oppose such a shift, citing a reported survey by the Biden Administration as the most recent indicator, and called for, among others things, "a more informed public discourse" by strengthening and expanding participation in strategic deterrence dialogues.[81] The authors also noted that further enlargement of "underlying 'anti-nuclear' sentiment among some allied governments and/or their publics ... would essentially eliminate the existing US extended nuclear deterrence policy, particularly (but not only) undercutting NATO allied participation in NATO's nuclear deterrence policy."[81] Former chair of the Bundestag Subcommittee on Disarmament and Arms Control Uta Zapf in 2021 characterized NFU policy adoption as "a first step and a door-opener for an urgently needed dialog on the role of NW in military doctrines and strategies".[82] Dominic Tierney, political science professor at Swarthmore College and author of The Right Way to Lose a War: America in an Age of Unwinnable Conflicts, in 2016 wrote: "Champions and critics of no-first-use often cast it as a principled policy and a revolutionary step, for good or for ill. But the idealistic symbolism of no-first-use betrays an underlying reality. Disavowing a first strike is a luxury afforded to the strong. ... No-first-use is the policy of Goliath, not Gandhi."[5]

From the perspective of TPNW supporters, ambassador and director for Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation at the Austrian Foreign Ministry Alexander Kmentt in 2020 explained that nuclear risk reduction measures, including de-alerting and de-targeting as well as no-first-use declarations, are "assessed as having a negative impact on the credibility of nuclear deterrence" and "considered only insofar, as they do not impact the nuclear deterrence calculus, which in itself is the origin of nuclear risk".[83] In her 2018 view of narratives surrounding the TPNW, Heather Williams of King's College London acknowledged the importance of deterrence as a security tool to many states and proposed a "bridge-building framework" involving supporters and opponents finding common ground and working together, for example, on nuclear risk reduction.[84]

By 2020 new NFU commitments and ideas had stalled, according to Wilfred Wan, UNIDIR researcher on the global nonproliferation regime, because of the deep divide over whether they reduce risk or, for example, increase risk by undermining strategic stability, while John Borrie, lead for UNIDIR's research program on WMDs, noted that even the definition of strategic stability was evolving due to the unpredictability of and increasing strategic concerns. In the same publication, Manpreet Sethi, lead researcher for the Centre for Air Power Studies, recommended that China's and India's unilateral NFU declarations be turned into a bilateral statement as a step towards nuclear risk reduction in South Asia, "since the risk of not taking any would be quite risky indeed".[85]: 10, 74, 154  The following year, the India-based Observer Research Foundation co-authored an opinion piece with Manpreet Sethi, mentioning the reintroduction of the No First Use Act in both chambers of the US Congress as "hope rekindled" and noting that, given the reality of countries unwilling to give up their nuclear weapons, an NFU "allows nations to maintain a notional sense of security from their nuclear weapons, but significantly reduces possibilities of use".[86] And in its effort to shape proposals and ideas on nuclear risk reduction "into a pathway to achieve the treaty-mandated disarmament end state of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons," the Council on Strategic Risks places the universal adoption of NFU at "the starting gate for any process towards full nuclear disarmament."[87]: 1, 10 

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "India's Response to CBW attack". Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.
  2. ^ Sundaram, Kumar; Ramana, M.V. (2018). "India and the Policy of No First Use of Nuclear Weapons". Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament. 1: 152–168. doi:10.1080/25751654.2018.1438737.
  3. ^ Mendelsohn, Jack (July–August 1999). "NATO's Nuclear Weapons: The Rationale for 'No First Use'". Arms Control Association.
  4. ^ Chang, Gordon (July 27, 2016). "Declaring a no-first-use nuclear policy would be exceedingly risky". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Archived from the original on July 28, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c Tierney, Dominic. "Refusing to Nuke First Is for the Powerful". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2018-01-24.
  6. ^ Schmemann, Serge (November 4, 1993). "Russia Drops Pledge of No First Use of Atom Arms". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  7. ^ No First Use of Nuclear Weapons meeting: paper by Yuri Fedorov, 'Russia's Doctrine on the Use of Nuclear Weapons' Archived December 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine – Pugwash Meeting no. 279 London, UK, 15–17 November 2002
  8. ^ a b c d e f "'No First Use' and Nuclear Weapons". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  9. ^ "Key Issues: Nuclear Weapons: Issues: Policies: No First Use Policy". Nuclearfiles.org. Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  10. ^ "No-First-Use (NFU)". Nuclear Threat Initiative. Archived from the original on 2010-01-25.
  11. ^ "Statement on security assurances issued on 5 April 1995 by the People's Republic of China" (PDF). United Nations. 6 April 1995. S/1995/265. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-12-17. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  12. ^ "Risk of Nuclear Weapons Use Higher Than at Any Time Since Cold War, Disarmament Affairs Chief Warns Security Council: Many Speakers Condemn Russian Federation's Dangerous Rhetoric, Veiled Threats". United Nations. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Draft Report of National Security Advisory Board on Indian Nuclear Doctrine". Indianembassy.org. Archived from the original on December 5, 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  14. ^ [shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/.../08_chapter%204.pdf A Rani (2013)]
  15. ^ "Shivshankar Menon at NDC (Speech)". Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  16. ^ "Did India Change its Nuclear Doctrine?: Much Ado about Nothing". Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  17. ^ Bagchi, Indrani (April 30, 2013). "Even a midget nuke strike will lead to massive retaliation, India warns Pak". The Economic Times. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  18. ^ "Analysis: New Pakistani Tactical Nuclear Weapons — Implications And Ramifications". Space Daily. February 16, 2013.
  19. ^ "Modi says committed to no first use of nuclear weapons". Reuters. April 16, 2014. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  20. ^ "India's defense minister questions its no first-use nuclear policy — then says it's his personal opinion". The Washington Post. November 10, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  21. ^ Special Correspondent (August 16, 2019). "'No First Use' nuclear policy depends on circumstances: Rajnath Singh". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  22. ^ Coman, Julian (26 October 2003). "Pentagon wants 'mini-nukes' to fight terrorists". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 4 December 2003. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  23. ^ Heuser, Beatrice (1997). NATO, Britain, France, and the FRG nuclear strategies and forces for Europe, 1949-2000. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 120–121. ISBN 9780230377622. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  24. ^ The East-West Strategic Balance. 1982.
  25. ^ Healy, Melissa (October 3, 1987). "Senate Permits Study for New Tactical Nuclear Missile". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
  26. ^ "Germany Raises No-First-Use Issue at NATO Meeting". Arms Control Association. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
  27. ^ "Russia, China, Britain, U.S. and France say no one can win nuclear war". Reuters. 2022-01-04. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  28. ^ Goshko, John M. (1982-06-16). "Soviet Chief Renounces First Use of A-Weapons". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  29. ^ Samuel, Henry (20 September 2007). "Soviet plan for WW3 nuclear attack unearthed". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  30. ^ "Able Archer 83: the Nato war-game that nearly spelled nuclear disaster". History Extra. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  31. ^ Efron, Sonni (1993-11-04). "Russia Discards Soviet Legacy of No First Use of A-Weapons". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  32. ^ "Voyennaya doktrina Rossiyskoy Federatsii" Военная доктрина Российской Федерации [Military doctrine of the Russian Federation] (in Russian). Moscow: Security Council of the Russian Federation. 2010-06-25 [presidential decree 2010-06-25]. Archived from the original on 2011-05-04. The same URL is used for various revisions with different presidential decree dates.
  33. ^ Military doctrine of the Russian Federation of 2014, paragraph 27
  34. ^ "Basic Principles of State Policy of the Russian Federation on Nuclear Deterrence". GlobalSecurity.org. June 8, 2020.
  35. ^ Topychkanov, Petr (October 1, 2020). "Russia's nuclear doctrine moves the focus from non-Western threats". Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
  36. ^ "Ukraine war: Could Russia use tactical nuclear weapons?". BBC News. 2022-03-16. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  37. ^ "Putin: Nuclear risk is rising, but we are not mad". BBC News. 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
  38. ^ Hird, Karolina; Bailey, Riley; Barros, George; Williams, Madison; Klepanchuk, Yekaterina; Kagan, Frederick W. (7 December 2022). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 7". Institute for the Study of War.
  39. ^ Putin, Vladimir (7 December 2022). Заседание Совета по развитию гражданского общества и правам человека [Meeting of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights] (videoconference).
  40. ^ "Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation Between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation". Article 2, second paragraph.
  41. ^ "UK 'prepared to use nuclear weapons'". BBC News. 20 March 2002. Archived from the original on 2002-10-20. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  42. ^ "UK restates nuclear threat". BBC News. 2 February 2003. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  43. ^ Merrick, Rob (24 April 2017). "Theresa May would fire UK's nuclear weapons as a 'first strike', says Defence Secretary Michael Fallon". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  44. ^ Fallon, Michael (5 September 2017). "Nuclear Weapons:Written question – 8502". UK Parliament. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  45. ^ "NATO's Nuclear Weapons: The Rationale for 'No First Use'". Arms Control Association. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  46. ^ "NATO's Nuclear Weapons: The Rationale for 'No First Use'". Arms Control Association. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  47. ^ a b "Nuclear Posture Review Report" (PDF). U.S. Department of Defense. April 2010.
  48. ^ "Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations" (PDF).
  49. ^ Blair, Bruce. "The Flimsy Case Against No-First-Use of Nuclear Weapons". Politico. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  50. ^ Miller, Franklin C.; Payne, Keith B. (22 August 2016). "The dangers of no-first-use". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  51. ^ a b Sonne, Paul; Lubold, Gordon; Lee, Carol E. (12 August 2016). "'No First Use' Nuclear Policy Proposal Assailed by U.S. Cabinet Officials, Allies". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660.
  52. ^ Sanger, David E.; Broad, William J. (5 September 2016). "Obama Unlikely to Vow No First Use of Nuclear Weapons". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  53. ^ Mitchell, Ellen (2017-05-03). "Lawmakers back push to curtail Trump's nuclear strike ability". The Hill. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  54. ^ Lillis, Mike (2017-10-12). "Pelosi urges new law to limit president's use of nuclear weapons". The Hill. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  55. ^ "Senate committee questions Trump's nuclear authority". Reuters. 2017-11-14. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  56. ^ Warren, Elizabeth. "Senator Warren, Chairman Smith Unveil Legislation to Establish 'No-First-Use' Nuclear Weapons Policy". United States Senate. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  57. ^ Lieu, Ted (2017-01-24). "Congressman Lieu, Senator Markey Introduce the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017". United States House of Representatives. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  58. ^ Gans-Morse, Jordan (March 12, 2022). "Invasion of Ukraine proves the U.S. must Trump-proof the nuclear codes – fast". NBC News. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  59. ^ Oswald, Rachel (January 8, 2021). "Trump-inspired insurrection prompts concern over control of nuclear weapons". Roll Call. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  60. ^ Warren, Elizabeth; Perry, William J. "No president should have unilateral power to use nuclear weapons: Sen. Warren and Sec. Perry". USA Today. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  61. ^ Woolf, Amy F. (2021). U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy: Considering 'No First Use' (PDF). Washington DC: Congressional Research Service. OCLC 1097538161. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-09-16.
  62. ^ Panda, Ankit; Narang, Vipin (February 22, 2021). "Sole Purpose Is Not No First Use: Nuclear Weapons and Declaratory Policy". War on the Rocks. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  63. ^ Biden, Joseph R. Jr. (2022-03-10). "Why America Must Lead Again". Foreign Affairs. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  64. ^ Dixit, J. N. (2003-09-02). India-Pakistan in War and Peace. Routledge. p. 343. ISBN 9781134407583 – via Google Books.
  65. ^ Narang, Vipin (January 2010). "Pakistan's Nuclear Posture: Implications for South Asian Stability" (PDF). Harvard Kennedy School, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Policy Brief. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  66. ^ a b Boies, Mary McInnis. "Promoting U.S.-Pakistan Relations: Future Challenges and Opportunities". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  67. ^ "Kim Jong Un's October 10 Speech: More Than Missiles". 38 North. The Henry L. Stimson Center. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  68. ^ "Israel's Nuclear Program and Middle East Peace". Lionel Beehner. February 10, 2006. Archived from the original on February 9, 2008. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  69. ^ Hersh, Seymour M. (1991). The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy (1st ed.). New York: Random House. pp. 42, 136–137, 288–289. ISBN 0-394-57006-5. OCLC 24609770.
  70. ^ Cohen, Avner (1998). Israel and the bomb. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 2, 7, 341. ISBN 0-585-04150-4. OCLC 42330721.
  71. ^ Avner Cohen, "Israel's Nuclear Opacity: a Political Genealogy", The Dynamics of Middle East Nuclear Proliferation, pp. 187–212, edited by Steven L. Spiegel, Jennifer D. Kibbe and Elizabeth G. Matthews. Symposium Series, Volume 66, The Edwin Mellen Press, 2001.
  72. ^ a b Stockholm International Peace Research Institute; Blackaby, Frank Thomas; Goldblat, Jozef; Lodgaard, Sverre, eds. (1984). No-first-use. London and Philadelphia: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0850662605. OL 2840610M.
  73. ^ Loretz, John (March 6, 2023). "Book Review: The Sheathed Sword: From Nuclear Brink to No First Use". Medicine, Conflict and Survival. 38. doi:10.1080/13623699.2023.2186769. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  74. ^ Bundy, McGeorge; Kennan, George F; McNamara, Robert S; Smith, Gerard C (1984). "Nuclear weapons and the Atlantic Alliance (rept)". In Stockholm International Peace Research Institute; Blackaby, Frank Thomas; Goldblat, Jozef; Lodgaard, Sverre (eds.). No-first-use. London and Philadelphia: Taylor & Francis. pp. 29–41. ISBN 0850662605. OL 2840610M.
  75. ^ Abe, Nobuyasu (2018). "No First Use: How to Overcome Japan's Great Divide". Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament. 1 (1): 137–151. doi:10.1080/25751654.2018.1456042.
  76. ^ "Issue Briefs: The Troubled ROK–US Alliance". The Asan Institute for Policy Studies. January 21, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  77. ^ "Country Report: South Korea (April 2023)". The Asan Institute for Policy Studies. May 2, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  78. ^ Allard, Léonie; Duchâtel, Mathieu; Godement, François (November 22, 2017). "Policy Brief. Pre-empting defeat: In search of North Korean's nuclear doctrine". European Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  79. ^ Ali, Idrees (July 12, 2023). "US, Japan, South Korea hold rare military meeting as North Korea launches missile". Reuters. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  80. ^ Bush, Richard C.; Pollack, Jonathan D. (July 20, 2016). "Order from Chaos series. Before moving to 'no first use,' think about Northeast Asia". Brookings Institution. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  81. ^ a b Payne, Keith B.; Dodge, Michaela (June 6, 2023). "Information Series, Issue No. 555. Emerging Challenges to Extended Deterrence, Assurance and the Future of US Alliances". National Institute for Public Policy. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  82. ^ Zapf, Uta (April 29, 2021). "Nuclear Risk Reduction and Disarmament: Is it time for no-first-use policies in the USA and globally?". Global Security Institute. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  83. ^ Kmentt, Alexander (December 4, 2020). "Commentary. Nuclear deterrence perpetuates nuclear risks: the risk reduction perspective of TPNW supporters". European Leadership Network. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  84. ^ Williams, Heather (2018). "A nuclear babel: narratives around the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons" (PDF). Nonproliferation Review. 25 (1–2): 51–63. doi:10.1080/10736700.2018.1477453. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  85. ^ John Borrie; Hassan Elbahtimy; Ulrich Kühn; Tanya Ogilvie-White; Ankit Panda; Manpreet Sethi; Wilfred Wan (April 2020). Wan, Wilfred (ed.). Nuclear Risk Reduction: Closing Pathways to Use (PDF) (Report). UNIDIR. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  86. ^ Observer Research Foundation; Sethi, Manpreet (May 17, 2021). "Acceptance Of No First Use (NFU) By USA: Hope Redux? – OpEd". Eurasia Review. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  87. ^ Rear Admiral John Gower, CB OBE; Christine Parthemore (April 19, 2021). "Briefer No. 17. A Practical Strategy for Nuclear Risk Reduction and Disarmament: Fulfilling the Code of Nuclear Responsibility" (PDF). The Council on Strategic Risks. Retrieved November 16, 2023.

Further reading[edit]

  • Feiveson, Harold A.; Hogendoorn, Ernst Jan: "No First Use of Nuclear Weapons", in: The Nonproliferation Review. 10(2)/2003. The Center for Nonproliferation Studies, ISSN 1073-6700
  • MacDonald, Rhona: "Nuclear Weapons 60 Years On: Still a Global Public Health Threat", in: PLoS Medicine. 2(11)/2005. Public Library of Science, e301, ISSN 1549-1277

External links[edit]