Approaching the Nuclear Tipping Point: Cooperative Security in an Era of Global Change

Globalization and technology have created new challenges to national governments. As a result, they now must share power with other entities, such as regional and global organizations or large private economic units. In addition, citizens in most parts of the world have been empowered by the ability to acquire and disseminate information instantly. However this has not led to the type of international cooperation essential to deal with existential threats. Whether governments can find ways to cooperate in the face of looming threats to the survival of human society and our environment has become one of the defining issues of our age. A struggle between renewed nationalism and the rise of a truly global society is underway, but neither global nor regional institutions have acquired the skills and authority needed to meet existential threats, such as nuclear proliferation. Arms control efforts may have reduced the excesses of the Cold War, but concepts and methodologies for dealing with the nuclear menace have not kept up with global change. In addition, governments have shown surprisingly little interest in finding new ways to manage or eliminate global and regional competition in acquiring more or better nuclear weapons systems. This book explains why nuclear weapons still present existential dangers to humanity and why engagement by the United States with all states possessing nuclear weapons remains necessary to forestall a global catastrophe. The terms of engagement, however, will have to be different than during the Cold War. Technology is developing rapidly, greatly empowering individuals, groups, and nations. This can and should be a positive development, improving health, welfare, and quality of life for all, but it can also be used for enormous destruction. This book reaches beyond the military issues of arms control to analyze the impact on international security of changes in the international system and defines a unique cooperative security agenda.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1. Learning Survival Skills in the New World Chapter 2. Stepping Back from the Tipping Point Chapter 3. Nationalism, Globalism, and Technology Chapter 4. The Potential for Regional Cooperative Security Negotiations Chapter 5. Global Security Cooperation: An Agenda for Early Action Chapter 6. Choosing the Future

About the Author :
James E. Goodby is an Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Stanford University and has been a diplomat, negotiator, and policy advisor in several US administrations from Eisenhower to Obama. He is also Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University.

Review :
James Goodby has done us a great service in addressing the nuclear tipping point from the perspective of one engaged in nuclear diplomacy for decades while gaining a fresh perspective in Silicon Valley about the role of technology in shaping nuclear risks and opportunities. Today’s complex politics will be well informed by Goodby’s reflections on the intersection of governance, technology and nuclear security and on the need for renewed focus on avoiding nuclear catastrophe. I strongly recommend this timely contribution to the critical discussion about nuclear security in a rapidly changing world. A sense of urgency permeates this book. Nuclear weapons could be unleashed at any moment for any number of causes: a war in a region where bitter adversaries possess nuclear arsenals and where proximity allows little time for deliberation; miscalculations by major powers in a time of intense crisis and amidst the confusions engendered by cyber attacks by who knows whom. Simultaneously, social structures that have been stable and predictable for generations are undergoing disruptive change owing largely to the transformations wrought by the rush of new technologies. The challenge to governance is well described in this book, which not only argues strongly for international security cooperation but also offers practical suggestions for getting control of a very dangerous situation. Policy makers and concerned citizens alike will benefit from reading Ambassador Goodby's insightful analysis. Ambassador Goodby has a breadth of experience with the challenges of nuclear weapons that few others have. In this very important book on an existential issue he does more than tell a tale of caution - he lays out a plan to slow and then reverse our race to the nuclear tipping point. For security scholars, it is a must-read. Indeed, it poses a challenge that all of us must heed. James Goodby has played an important role in the ongoing effort to prevent the use of nuclear weapons. He tells that story with clarity and insight, explaining why we should worry while remaining optimistic that lessons learned will prevent future use.