Nuclear Reactions

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Nuclear Reactions analyzes how nuclear weapons change the calculations states make in their foreign policies, why they do so, and why nuclear weapons have such different effects on the foreign policies of different countries. Mark S. Bell argues that nuclear weapons are useful for more than just deterrence. Instead, they are leveraged to pursue a wide range of goals in international politics, and the nations that acquire them significantly change their foreign policies as a result. Bell closely examines how these effects vary and what those variations have meant, in the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. Countries aren't generically "emboldened"--they change their foreign policies in different ways based on what their priorities are. This has huge policy implications: what would Iran do if it were to get nuclear weapons? Would Japanese policy toward the United States change if it were to acquire nuclear weapons? And what does the looming threat of nuclear weapons mean for the future of foreign policy? Far from being a relic of the Cold War, Bell argues, nuclear weapons are just as important in international politics today as they ever were.