Russell-Einstein, <\/em>many leading scientists and scientific coalitions have persistently warned of the grave dangers to humankind posed by nuclear weapons. Yet despite these persistent warnings, nuclear nations continue to expand and\/or modernize their deadly arsenals. Some have developed destabilizing battlefield weapons, like the nuclear \u201cbunker buster,\u201d which blur the line between conventional and nuclear war and thereby increase the likelihood of nuclear first use. And today, many non-nuclear-weapons states, in defensive response, are intent on developing their own nuclear capability.<\/p>\nThe historic motivation for treading the nuclear path has been that there is no secure shield against nuclear attack\u2014and consequently, the only feasible defense has been to possess one\u2019s own nuclear arsenal and thereby pose a credible threat of devastating nuclear retaliation.<\/p>\n
This strategy of defense based upon lethal retaliation\u2014a.k.a. \u201cmutually assured destruction\u201d (MAD)\u2014has created a dangerous global standoff. History records numerous instances where spiraling tensions nearly unleashed a devastating nuclear war. And recent events underscore the threat to civilization posed by a single, unstable ruler with access to the nuclear trigger.<\/p>\n
The need for a new approach<\/h4>\n
With the shifting geopolitical landscape and the rise of terrorist nation-states, the strategy of nuclear deterrence is increasingly ineffective and outmoded. The threat of nuclear retaliation will not deter terrorist groups or suicide bombers, who are willing to sacrifice their own lives to wreak destruction upon their political and religious enemies\u2014or terrorist organizations who possess no sovereign territory that could serve as a target for a retaliatory strike.<\/p>\n
Today, every nation is vulnerable. Even the mightiest nations have fallen prey to escalating terrorist attacks. Conventional military approaches appear unsuited and unable to prevent such attacks. Diplomatic efforts face similar challenges. In a world torn by deep-seated hostilities and regional tensions, compromise and diplomatic solutions have been elusive. Hard-won negotiated settlements and ceasefires typically afford only fleeting relief. Paper treaties among rival factions have proven too fragile a basis for lasting peace.<\/p>\n
Clearly, a fundamentally new approach is needed. The scientific research is increasingly clear: Traditional approaches to conflict resolution and conflict prevention fail, in large measure, because they do not address the underlying cause of violence and social conflict: they do not relieve the acute political, ethnic, and religious tensions that fuel terrorism and conflict. For diplomacy and other conventional approaches to succeed, we first need an effective means to defuse these deep-seated tensions\u2014an approach that can prevent these societal tensions from reaching the boiling point.<\/p>\n
It is gratifying to report that such innovative, effective approaches to defense and conflict prevention exist\u2014and in key respects, already have a better track record of success than conventional approaches to security and peace. These innovative, evidence-based approaches are the primary focus of GUSP today, and are described in detail in the section Defusing World Crises<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dr. Hagelin Addresses the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates On September 20, 2024, GUSP international president Dr. John Hagelin addressed the 19th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates and presented the innovative, field-tested, evidence-based approach to peace supported by the Global Union of Scientists for Peace. For the full story, click here or on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":298,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/homepage.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5618","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gusp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gusp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gusp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gusp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gusp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5618"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.gusp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5702,"href":"https:\/\/www.gusp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5618\/revisions\/5702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gusp.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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