Nuclear blackmail
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Nuclear blackmail is a form of nuclear strategy in which one of states uses the threat of use of nuclear weapons to force an adversary to perform some action or make some concessions. It is a type of extortion that is related to brinkmanship.
History
[edit]In order to support the continued existence of the Republic of China government, the United States issued several nuclear threats against the People's Republic of China in the 1950s to force the evacuation of outlying islands and the cessation of attacks against Quemoy and Matsu.[1]
In January 1955, the Chinese government made the decision to develop the nuclear bomb as a result of the unpredictabilities brought by the nuclear blackmail levied by foreign powers, particularly the United States.[2] On October 16, 1964, when China became a nuclear power, the Chinese government stated that "The Chinese Government fully understands the good intentions of peace-loving countries and peoples in demanding an end to all nuclear tests. But more and more countries are coming to realize that the more exclusive the monopoly of nuclear weapons held by the U.S. imperialists and their partners, the greater the danger of a nuclear war. They are very arrogant when they have those weapons while you haven't. But when those who oppose them also have such weapons, they will not be so haughty, their policy of nuclear blackmail and nuclear threats will not be so effective, and the possibility of complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons will increase. We sincerely hope that a nuclear war will never break out. We are deeply convinced that, so long as all peace-loving countries and peoples make joint efforts and persist in the struggle, nuclear war can be prevented."[3]
In 1981, the US Department of Energy said there had been 75 cases of people attempting nuclear blackmail against the US but only several were serious attempts.[4]
On February 24, 2022, in the TV address where Vladimir Putin announced Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Putin warned that any countries interfering would face consequences they had never encountered in their history. This was widely interpreted as being a threat of nuclear attack. Several days later, Putin put Russia's nuclear forces on a higher state of alert.[5][6] United States warned Russia of "catastrophic" consequences for Russia if Russia uses any nuclear weapons after setbacks in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[7]
On September 25, 2024, Putin warned the West that if attacked with conventional weapons Russia would consider a nuclear retaliation. Putin went on to threaten nuclear powers that if they supported another country's attack on Russia, then they would be considered participants in such an aggression. This was described by the office of Ukrinian President Vladimir Zelensky as nuclear blackmail.[8][9]
See also
[edit]- Brinkmanship
- Deterrence theory
- Doomsday Clock
- Emotional blackmail
- Essentials of Post–Cold War Deterrence
- Mutual assured destruction
- Nuclear terrorism
- Samson Option
References
[edit]- ^ Friedman, Edward (January 1975). "Nuclear Blackmail and the end of the Korean War". Modern China. 1 (1): 75–91. doi:10.1177/009770047500100103. S2CID 143664791.
- ^ Lewis, John Wilson; Xue, Litai (1988). China Builds the Bomb. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 11–13. ISBN 9780804714525.
- ^ Lewis, John Wilson; Xue, Litai (1988). China Builds the Bomb. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 1 & 241–243. ISBN 9780804714525.
- ^ "75 Nuke Extortion Cases". The Telegraph-Herald. UPI. June 15, 1981. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
- ^ "France says Putin needs to understand NATO has nuclear weapons". Reuters. February 24, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ "Putin publicly put Russian nuclear forces on high alert. What should we make of that?". NPR. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ "Russia faces 'catastrophic' consequences if it uses nuclear weapons, U.S. warns". NBC News. September 26, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
- ^ Sauer, Pjotr (September 25, 2024). "Vladimir Putin warns west he will consider using nuclear weapons". The Guardian. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ^ Schmemann, Serge (November 4, 1993). "Russia Drops Pledge of No First Use of Atom Arms". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2024.