Nuclear Weapons and Existential Threats: Insights from a Comparative Analysis of Nuclear-Armed States
Nuclear weapons are uniquely capable of threatening entire countries’ existences, but not all nuclear weapons possessors are equally capable of posing such threats. This article explores the existential threats that nuclear weapons possessors pose with a new, empirically based
metric called the Nuclear Annihilation Threat (NAT) Index. Using the NAT Index, we comparatively analyze the existential threats and vulnerabilities that nuclear-armed states face from one another. In particular, we apply these insights to gain a better understanding of the nuclear security
threats and vulnerabilities of the United States and Israel and explore the implications of Iran going nuclear for both countries.
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Political Science and Public Administration Departments University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY), Albany, NY, USA 2: Center for Policy Research Department of Political Science University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY), Albany, NY, USA
Publication date: 08 August 2014
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