Issue 412 of New Internationalist

Reader-owned global journalism

June 2008

June 2008

Do we need to worry about nuclear weapons any more? After the end of the Cold War, the world stepped back from the brink of mutually-assured annihilation and nuclear stockpiles were halved. But nukes haven't gone away. In fact, they are undergoing something of a renaissance. India, Pakistan and North Korea have all recently joined the nuclear club. The US, Russia, Britain, China and France are spending billions on 'modernizing' their nuclear arsenals. So why are disarmament campaigners so upbeat? The *NI* discovers a window of opportunity for banning the bomb – but can we seize the moment before the shutters slam down, perhaps for good?

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In this issue

  • There are over 27,000 nuclear weapons in the world. Thousands are deployed on land, at sea and in the air, posing the constant threat of nuclear war and radioactive contamination.
  • From the Manhattan Project and Hiroshima, to the Cold War, North Korea and beyond, nuclear fission has changed everything.
  • In the heart of Central Asia, enclosed by the Pamir mountains to the southeast and desert in the northeast, Uzbekistan was once the seat of vast wealth and influence.