Challenges of Nuclear Weapons 

Nuclear weapons fundamentally transformed international affairs with war between nuclear armed states likely to result in far more devastation than it had in the past. This course examines how nuclear weapons changed the world and asks whether they made it safer and if more countries can and should get nuclear weapons. Students will gain a historical and theoretical understanding of the impact of nuclear weapons on politics. They will learn about close-calls with nuclear war and efforts to limit their spread. They will gain an understanding of ongoing conflicts and rivalries faced by nuclear armed states including the US, Russia, China, Israel, Iran, North Korea, India, and Pakistan. They will also learn about contemporary issues related to nuclear weapons such as their impact on the environment, the concerns about further proliferation, the possibility of nuclear terrorism, and new technologies.