Atomic Obsession; Nuclear Alarmism from Hiroshima to Al-Qaeda
New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. First Paperback Edition, First printing [stated]. Trade paperback. xiii, [3], 319, [1] pages. Cover has minor soiling. Preface, Notes, References, Index. John E. Mueller (born June 21, 1937) is an American political scientist in the field of international relations. He is recognized for his ideas concerning "the banality of ethnic war" and the theory that major world conflicts are quickly becoming obsolete. Mueller's 2004 book, The Remnants of War, was awarded Georgetown University's Lepgold Prize as that year's best book on international relations. Mueller's 2010 book Atomic Obsession presents the case that nuclear weapons have had little historical significance, that their destructive power is hysterically exaggerated, that nuclear proliferation has been slower and more limited than mainstream predictions, and that such weapons are practically useless and are a waste of money, time, and talent. Mueller's book War, Presidents and Public Opinion was awarded the first Warren J. Mitofsky Award for Excellence in Public Opinion Research by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut in 2007, for being "a trailblazing book in public opinion research, in political science, and in the use of the Roper Center’s data." This book featured the first definition of what is known as the Rally Round the Flag Syndrome. Francis Gavin, another thoughtful analyst, has posited that: "Nuclear alarmism is based on four myths. The first myth is that today’s nuclear threats are new and more dangerous than those of the past. The second myth is that unlike today, nuclear weapons stabilized international politics during the Cold War, when in fact the record was mixed. The third myth conflates the history of the nuclear arms race with the geopolitical and ideological competition between the Soviet Union and the United States, creating International Security an oversimplified and misguided portrayal of the Cold War. The fourth myth is that the bipolar military rivalry during the Cold War was the only force driving nuclear proliferation in the decades following the end of World War II. In championing this myth, nuclear alarmists ignore or underplay other important drivers of postwar international relations, such as decolonization, questions surrounding the political status of postwar Germany, and regional security issues."
Mueller's work consists of three parts. "The first examines the effects of nuclear weapons and the influence they have had on history since their invention.... The second part assesses the effects of the spread of nuclear weapons within and to states.... The third part of the book examines the atomic terrorist nightmare that has become so pervasive since 9/11, an expression of the atomic obsession that has not only caused widespread sleep disorders but has also inspired protective and policing expenditures that are likely to prove substantially excessive."
Following 9/11, Americans were swept up in a near hysteria-level fear of terrorists, especially of Islamic extremists working domestically. The government and media reports stoked fears that people living in the US have the desire and means to wreak extreme havoc and destruction. Early reports estimated slightly more than 300 al Qaeda operatives living in the United States. It wasn't long before this number became 2,000 or 5,000 domestic terrorists. As these estimates snowballed, so did spending on federal counterterrorism organizations and measures, spending which now totals over a trillion dollars. The federal government launched more covert operations in the name of fighting terrorist adversaries than they did in the entirety of the forty-five year Cold War. The scale of these efforts has been enormous, yet somehow they have not been proven to make Americans feels safe from what they perceive to be a massive terrorist threat. But how well-founded is this fear?
Only one alarm in 10,000 has proven to be a legitimate threat-the rest are what the authors refer to as "ghosts." These ghosts are enormous drains on resources and contribute to a countrywide paranoia that has resulted in widespread support and minimal critical questioning of massive expenditures and infringements on civil liberties, including invasions of privacy and questionably legal imprisonments. The chance that an American will be killed by a terrorist domestically in any given year is about one in four million (under present conditions). Yet despite this statistically low risk and the extraordinary amount of resources put towards combatting threats, Americans do not profess to feel any safer from terrorists. Until the true threat of domestic terrorism is analyzed and understood, the country cannot begin to confront whether our pursuit of ghosts is worth the cost. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Graham Allison, Nuclear Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, al-Qaeda, Terrorism, Atomic Bomb, Cold War, Deterrence, Fissile Material, Jacques Hymans, Plutonium, George Tenet, Kenneth Waltz, Weapons of Mass Destruction
ISBN: 9780199837090
[Book #80321]
Price: $25.00