Albert Carnesale – författare

The debate over national security and arms control has focused primarily on weapons—more or fewer weapons, different kinds of weapons. Hawks tend to see the immediate cause of war as one-sided weakness that tempts an aggressive adversary. For Doves, the primary cause of war lies in arms races that become provocative.

At the request of the President of Harvard University, six Harvard scholars have joined forces to write a book that lays out the facts about nuclear weapons for all concerned citizens who want to think through the nuclear dilemma for themselves. Living with Nuclear Weapons is written by specialists for the general reader. It conveys crucial information clearly, concisely, and without technical jargon.Living with Nuclear Weapons presents all sides of the nuclear debate while explaining what everyone needs to know to develop informed and reasoned opinions about the issues. Among the specifics are a history of nuclear weaponry; an examination of current nuclear arsenals; scenarios of how a nuclear war might begin; a discussion of what can be done to promote arms control and disarmament; a study of the hazards of nuclear proliferation; an analysis of various nuclear strategies; and an explanation of how public opinion can influence policy on the nuclear arms question.

This occasional paper is an edited version of a briefing book that was designed by members of Harvard University's Avoiding Nuclear War Project and distributed among newly appointed officials in the Bush administration. Originally designed to help combat the lack of institutional memory on nuclear issues in the American government, these fourteen chapters also provide an interesting overview of these issues for a broader audience. A Primer for the Nuclear Age addresses the danger, effects, development, strategy, and force structure of nuclear weapons as well as assessing the influence of domestic and international politics on nuclear weapons policy. Co-published with the Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University.