Sixty-five years ago on August 6, 1945, a nuclear weapon was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the US during the final stages of World War II. It was for the first time, in the history of humanity, that a weapon of mass destruction was put to such a deadly use. Since then there has been widespread nuclear diffusion across the globe. During the past six decades, the US, Russia, China, France and Britain have emerged as the nuclear weapon states, while India and Pakistan have emerged as the undeclared nuclear weapon states. A few countries such as, North Korea, Iran and Israel are also in possession of nuclear technological know-how.

The existence of nuclear weapons is a threat to international peace and security. A nuclear conflict between any two countries will result in terrible loss and destruction. A nuclear accident or miscalculation will also cause a catastrophe. Because of such devastating consequences, the states possessing nuclear weapons should be encouraged to join international treaties for the ban of nuclear weapons. The No First Use (NFU) of nuclear weapons policy will be a major step towards nuclear disarmament. Such a policy can be reinforced through a treaty among nuclear weapon states.

P M Kamath, in the paper, “Make No First Use of Nuclear Weapons: The First Step Towards Global Nuclear Disarmament”, discusses the meaning, origin, and significance of the NFU of nuclear weapons. He proposes to make NFU as a first step in nuclear disarmament as enshrined in the Indian Nuclear Doctrine. He also discusses the various practical advantages of the NFU in contrast to the First Use (FU) policy. He argues that a commitment to the NFU prevents the occurrence of nuclear wars by accident and miscalculation. NFU will be a major step towards nuclear disarmament, if the nuclear powers and threshold states take the NFU doctrine seriously and lend moral and political support.

B N Mehrish, in the paper, “US-Russia Relations Under the Obama Administration: A Focus on Nuclear Arms Race Issues”, analyzes the US President Barack Obama’s new policy on the use of atomic weapons, called the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR). The policy shows a significant shift in the US nuclear strategy. The US has pledged not to develop a new generation of nuclear warheads and began a new round of negotiations on renewing a key nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia. Obama is trying to broaden the nuclear dialogue. He is taking steps to engage the whole global community. This shows that the path towards disarmament is not utopian. It is possible.

Jyotirmoy Banerjee, in the paper, “Europe’s Defense on the Hindukush: A Case Study on Germany”, focuses on the significance of Germany’s military deployment over the Hindukush. He examines the rationale as well as the shortcomings and the dilemmas faced by the German army. In the paper, the author also unearths little known facts about Germany’s secret forces and the controversial Kunduz bombing. The public support for the German mission in Afghanistan has dwindled. If the West pulls out troops and commitment, the danger of a Taliban takeover of the land will be overwhelming. There are apprehensions that the total withdrawal may tantamount to inviting terror home.

Alistair D Edgar, in the paper, “Justice and the Politics of Peace Building: Comparing Experiences in Kosovo, Cambodia and Northern Uganda”, discusses how contemporary intra-state or civil wars end, what happens when they do, and whether sustainable peace emerges in their place. He also examines how and where considerations of truth, justice and reconciliation fit into processes of war-to-peace transition, and post-conflict reconstruction and peace building. Serbia/Kosovo, Cambodia and Uganda which emerged from conflict provide three fascinating case studies of the complex political debates that are attached to the ideas of justice and peace building. In each case, the author opines that internal and external political, social, economic and other influences have played roles in shaping the nature of the justice.

Russia is the only major economy which is yet to become a member of World Trade Organization (WTO). R G Gidadhubli, in the paper, “Russia’s Accession to World Trade Organization: The Final Act?”, examines several objective and subjective factors which have contributed or persisted for the delay in Russia’s accession to the WTO. The objection from former Soviet republics such as Georgia, Estonia, and Moldov; certain trade restrictive policies of Russia; and the political and economic policies of former President Putin and the like have hindered the process of Russia’s accession to WTO. However, during the last couple of years, the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has taken various measures and policy decisions, in order to hasten up the process of joining the global trading organization.

-- Kalluri Raj Reddy
Consulting Editor