Overview

After World War II, an atomic hierarchy emerged in the noncommunist world. Washington was at the top, followed over time by its NATO allies and then Israel, with the postcolonial world completely shut out. An Indian diplomat called the system """"nuclear apartheid."""" Drawing on recently declassified sources from U.S. and international archives, Shane Maddock offers the first full-length study of nuclear apartheid, casting a spotlight on an ideological outlook that nurtured atomic inequality and established the United States--in its own mind--as the most legitimate nuclear power. Beginning with the discovery of fission in 1939 and ending with George W. Bush's nuclear policy and his preoccupation with the """"axis of evil,"""" Maddock uncovers the deeply ideological underpinnings of U.S. nuclear policy--an ideology based on American exceptionalism, irrational faith in the power of technology, and racial and gender stereotypes. The unintended result of the nuclear exclusion of nations such as North Korea, Pakistan, and Iran is, increasingly, rebellion. Here is an illuminating look at how an American nuclear policy based on misguided ideological beliefs has unintentionally paved the way for an international """"wild west"""" of nuclear development, dramatically undercutting the goal of nuclear containment and diminishing U.S. influence in the world.

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9781469613932

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Reviews

A book that deserves a high place in the literature on the history of the nuclear arms race. . . . Highly recommended.--Choice <p/>

A compelling narrative. . . . Maddock's writing is generally lively, and he employs his subjects' own candid words to good and occasionally humorous effect. -- Journal of Military History

Eureka! I have been waiting a long time for a book this perceptive about the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. Since the Cold War cannot be properly studied without careful attention to the nuclear arms race, Nuclear Apartheid belongs at the top of the reading lists for all Cold War history classes. It is the clearest analysis of the objectives that promoted the reckless expansion of our weapons stockpile. --Martin J. Sherwin, George Mason University, coauthor of the Pulitzer Prize-winning American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

Engaging, interesting, and witty. . . . A must-read for anyone interested in the early history o non-proliferation efforts. --Tom Nichols, Naval War College and International Security Program, JFK School of Government, Harvard Univeristy, H-Diplo Roundtable

A very engaging and dynamic history. . . . Provides keen insights into the national security policies of the United States in the first three decades of the Cold War. . . . The book deserves to be read by diplomatic, Cold War, and policy historians. --Se

Author Information

Shane J. Maddock is professor of history at Stonehill College, USA. He is coauthor of American Foreign Relations: A History and editor of The Nuclear Age.

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