Piece Description

When the power of the atomic bomb was unleashed by the United States at the end of World War 2 in 1945, a new challenge to the hope for world peace was unleashed with it. Even while the bombs were being created, and certainly afterwards, this central question has been debated - "How can we prevent their use?" Many have wondered "How can we eliminate them entirely?" insisting that world peace can't be achieved without complete abolition of the weapons. To others, the existence of nuclear weapons has mostly meant security. They believe the deterrent power of these arsenals actually helps keep the peace. It also seems that many hearts and minds live somewhere between the need for some deterrent arsenal and the need to eliminate the world's nuclear stockpiles. On this edition of Peace Talks, host Carol Boss talks with Dr. Zia Mian, a research staff member and lecturer in the Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. His research seeks to provide the technical basis for policy initiatives in nuclear arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation - particularly in South Asia. With Dr. Mian, we hear about the history of the development and proliferation of such weapons, learn about recent trends in both the spread of weapons technology, and on the disarmament front - and work through some of the core issues in the debate.