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Make No First Use of Nuclear Weapons:
The First Step Towards
Global Nuclear Disarmament
-- P M Kamath
This paper discusses making No First Use (NFU) of nuclear weapons enshrined in the Indian Nuclear
Doctrine as a first step towards nuclear disarmament. The proposal derives its credence from the efforts of the
US President Barrack Obama to place nuclear disarmament as an important policy of his administration.
Incidentally, the concept of NFU originated in the US, but it is China that put it into practice first, in October 1964 after
its first nuclear test. Of the many advantages of the policy of NFU, it is more democratic in contrast to the
First Use (FU) policy practiced by the US. Under the policy of FU, per force, nuclear weapons have to be
placed with the armed forces for instant use. But in NFU, since nuclear weapons are used only for a second strike,
the weapons could be held by a different agency other than the armed forces. India is the only country that
has made, "Global, verifiable and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament" as a national security objective
by including it in the nuclear doctrine. Hence, the step has to be taken for an international treaty amongst
the known nuclear powers and threshold states on NFU of nuclear weapons. Noble Peace Laureate, Sir
Joseph Rotblat had called for a treaty among Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) that commits them never to be the
first to use nuclear weapons. Rotblat rightly thought NFU "would open the way to the gradual, mutual
reductions of nuclear arsenals, down to zero." If each NWS commits not to use nuclear weapon as a weapon of
first strike, there shall be no occasion to use them at all. India had introduced such a proposal for consideration
in the UN Conference on Disarmament in February 2008. A multilateral agreement under UN should bind
the nations to a greater extent to follow the spirit of the treaty.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
US-Russia Relations Under
the Obama Administration: A Focus
on Nuclear Arms Race Issues
-- B N Mehrish
The end of the Cold War brought relief and expectations for most Americans. During the Cold War
superpower rivalry, the US foreign policy under various American presidents belonging to the Republican party favored
a huge build-up of American power to counter the Soviet sphere of influence particularly in the so-called
third world. In the 1960s, the Sino-Soviet rift necessitated both the superpowers to moderate the Cold
War schisms. The paper highlights the US foreign policy under President Barack Obama, the most
controversial president in American history. Obama's decision to discard plans for anti-ballistic missile in Eastern Europe
has called for a debate. Critics argue that Obama has compromised the American security and his decision
to shelve the Bush administration's missile defense shield has created `a crisis of confidence'. Obama's
new policy on the use of atomic weapons `The Nuclear Posture Review' has been analyzed and critically examined.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Europe's Defense on the Hindukush: A Case Study on Germany
-- Jyotirmoy Banerjee
Along with the US, its European allies are facing the dilemma of pulling out their International
Security Assistance Force's (ISAF) troops fighting the Taliban on the Hindukush. If they withdraw prematurely,
terror could visit their homeland. If they stay put, there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel in this
struggle against terror and for reconstruction. Either way, it is a hard choice. The German troop deployment
typifies the European dilemma. But there are certain features unique to Berlin's mandate as well. This paper,
largely based on the original German language sources and researched in Europe, probes the German
commitment to Afghanistan, highlights its over cautiousness, and brings to light many details. It focuses on the
significance and sometimes inadequacies of Germany's military deployment, the dilemmas faced by its army,
unearths little known facts about Germany's secret forces and the controversial Kunduz bombing, and draws
conclusion on the shape of things in the foreseeable future.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Justice and the Politics of Peace Building:
Comparing Experiences in Kosovo, Cambodia and Northern Uganda
-- Alistair D Edgar
What `justice' means, and how or where different forms of justice fit within larger processes of
conflict resolution and sustainable peace—such as war-to-peace transitions, ceasefires, peace settlements and
post-conflict peace building—are questions that defy simple answers. Peace and justice too often have
become idealized or politicized notions, sometimes portrayed as intimately and positively intertwined (no peace
without justice), and on other occasions declared as mutually contradictory (no peace settlement without
withdrawal of International Criminal Court (ICC) indictments). Serbia/Kosovo, Cambodia and Uganda provide
three fascinating case studies of the complex political debates that are attached to the ideas of justice and
peace building. In each case, internal (local, national) and external (regional, international) political, social,
economic and other influences have played roles in shaping the nature of the `justice' that is sought by various actors
in the violent conflicts that have done so much harm to their populations. What emerges from the analysis
here is a story not of a single, clear path towards justice, reconciliation and sustainable peace, but rather of
a difficult, awkward and uncertain process of balancing goals and claims that at different times can
be complementary or contradictory, central or irrelevant, or more often a mixture of values that can change
over time and circumstance as well as in the eyes of the beholder.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Russia's Accession to World Trade Organization: The
Final Act?
-- R G Gidadhubli
Seventeen years have passed and Russia is still waiting for its accession to World Trade Organization
(WTO). Hence, the feeling of frustration was evident for the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev even as, in
October 2010, the US President Barack Obama extended his strong support for expediting Russia's accession to
WTO. The inordinate delay in Russia's accession has been due to various objective and subjective factors. In
the 1990s, after the Soviet disintegration, under the presidency of Boris Yeltsin, there were many
domestic constraints as Russia was passing through tremendous political and economic problems of transition.
Since 2000, during the first term of President Vladimir Putin, Russia did make a serious beginning for
complying with various formalities for accession. But the process of accession was hindered partly due to certain
economic and political policies undertaken by Putin during his second term covering 2004 to mid-2008. Russia
faced objections for its admission to WTO by some of the former Soviet Republics such as Georgia, Estonia
and Moldova. Moreover, certain trade restrictive policies in Russia, including enhanced export duties and
import restrictions, antagonized European Union (EU) and the US which had been otherwise supportive to
Russia's accession. Russia-US relations, known for their historic complexities, also contributed for the delay. This
was evident from the fact that even at the end of 2006, Russia was not able to complete its bilateral protocol
with 5 out of 153 countries including the US. Since 2009, under the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev, Russia
has taken consistent policy measures and made significant progress in completing the formalities for accession.
To implement policy measures, steps have been taken by the concerned ministries of the government of
Russia with the concerned organizations. Russia has conceded to take policy measures to overcome objections on
the issues relating to agricultural subsidy, Customs Union (CU) and hopes to resolve the remaining
constraints within a few months with support from Russia's major partners including Germany and the US. Thus,
there are high hopes that Russia has entered the final act for accession to
WTO.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
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