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Benchmark I
(2005-2006)
- The purposes
of Benchmark I are to consider the motivations and the “resources” (physical
and intellectual) a nation needs to pursue a nuclear weapons policy.
- The leaders
of any country must first “want” to have nuclear weapons.
Next, they must be able to justify that “want” to their
own citizens and they must try to justify their decision to the
world community.
- Finally, they
then must have the necessary scientific, technological, industrial,
and economic abilities to carry out the development, testing, and
production of those weapons.
- Your task is
to examine decisions that have been made, or that are being made,
by various nations in the world today to develop nuclear weapons.
You are to analyze these decisions in the context of nuclear proliferation,
nonproliferation, and counter proliferation.
- In
your investigations you will examine the objectives from
the point of view of the scientific & environmental; social & cultural;
economic; political & geopolitical domains to help you
to build an understanding of the motivational and infrastructure
issues behind a nuclear weapons effort.
Objective
I - Motivations:
You
are to produce an overall analysis and definition of the motivations
that drive current decisions being made by leaders
in nations of
the world to pursue a nuclear weapons capability. Select two or
three nations for this study.
Suggested
Activities:
- Define,
compare, and contrast the types of nuclear weapons.
a. What materials do they use and why?
b. How are they built?
c. How do they work?
d. What kind of industrial infrastructure is needed to produce
each?
e. Make a model (schematic) of your bomb and attach an addendum
summarizing how and where you will obtain needed materials.
- Develop
a chart or a database identifying various nations and their nuclear
capabilities. Include:
a.
all Nuclear weapon
states
b.
as many
nuclear capable states as you can identify
c.
a sampling
of non-nuclear states.
Tell what each nation is or is
not capable of doing.
- Think
about a neighborhood. In this neighborhood for many years there
were no guns. Recently, some homeowners have
acquired guns;
others have not.
a. Who do you think feels unsafe and why?
b. Would it be better
for no one to have guns? For everyone to have guns? For
some to have guns and others not to have guns?
c. If it would be
best for
no one
to have guns, how would you take them away from those
who do have them?
d. If it is best for only some to have guns, how do you
determine who those “some” are?
- Consider
the following scenario:
a. As part of the political process in
a country, an election for the head of state is coming up this
year. The two
main candidates are on
opposite sides of the nuclear issue. As a part of the
campaign each side’s management team must come up with
a position on the following questions:
i. What is the world's
perception of the nuclear powers?
ii. Is nuclear status a determinant
of great power status?
iii. What power does a nuclear state really
have?
iv. Do we need nuclear weapons?
v. What responsibility do we have
to non-nuclear states?
vi. What are the benefits for our nation of
being nuclear? What are the risks?
b. Now, prepare campaign materials
such as brochures, bumper stickers, position papers, and TV and newspaper
ads defining
your side’s
ideas on the future of your nation's nuclear program.
Refer to the four domains.
- Your
firm has been hired as consultants to a government that is considering
developing nuclear weapons. You must
prepare a
report on the impact of developing nuclear weapons.
You must answer the
following
questions:
a. Why would a country want nuclear
weapons?
b. Why have some nations with the capability chosen not
to develop nuclear weapons (like Japan, Germany,
Switzerland, Argentina,
Brazil) and others to arm and then disarm themselves
(like South Africa)?
How should a government considering nuclear weapons
view these decisions?
c. What might motivate a country to change direction
and begin a nuclear weapons program?
d. Would the
world be a safer place if no nation had nuclear weapons? If all nations
had nuclear weapons?
What would
be a realistic goal,
and why?
e. What would be considered a reasonable
number of weapons for the US and Russia to maintain? For China? India?
Pakistan? How
should
a government considering nuclear weapons view these
numbers?
f. Should North Korea or Iran have any? Some? If these
two countries develop nuclear weapons, how would
other countries
react? Again,
How should a government considering nuclear weapons
view the answers to
these questions?
g. How will nuclear weapons affect
the international status of a country? Can a country truly be considered
a great
civilization today
without
having nuclear weapons?
h. How could a nation’s
nuclear capabilities be exploited within the framework
of existing treaties
and current power structures?
Objective
II – Physical and Intellectual Resources
Once
the leaders of a country have determined that they will develop nuclear
weapons,
they must draw on many different physical
resources
and intellectual knowledge to actually accomplish what they
want to do. You are to produce an overall analysis and definition
of the physical
infrastructure, the scientific, and technological knowledge
needed
to develop nuclear weapons. What kind of infrastructure is
it? What does it cost? What sacrifices will have to be made?
What kinds of
people will be necessary? What fields of study will be important?
Select two
or three nations for this study.
Suggested
Activities
- Prepare
for your examination of nonproliferation issues by viewing the film “Day
After Trinity” research
and do a technical critique. Since science is of great
importance in the development of
nuclear weapons, determine if the science is correctly
portrayed in the movie. Take notes during the movie and
write a "recipe" for
creating a nuclear device with questions on what you
will need to know. Compare your “recipe” with
facts you have gained from research.
- Compare
and contrast the scientific and technological efforts of developing
a nuclear weapon in the United
States and the
Soviet Union
during the 1940’s and 1950’s, the scientific
and technological efforts that took place in India
and Pakistan in the 1990’s,
and the efforts taking place in a country such as Iran
or North Korea today.
- What
does a nation learn about its nuclear weapons by conducting nuclear
tests? Is
testing as important
today
as it was during
the early development of nuclear weapons in the late
1940’s and the 1950’s?
- What
defines the concepts of “reliability” and “safety” within
a nuclear arsenal? What roles do science and technology
play?
- In
the United States it is called “Stockpile stewardship.” It
is the name given to the program of maintenance
for US nuclear weapons. Produce an overall analysis regarding the
science and technology that
any nation would need to maintain or refine nuclear
weapons programs. Select two or three nations for this study.
- In
addition to having a reliable stockpile (knowing that the weapons
will work) and a safe stockpile
(knowing the
weapons will not go
off accidentally), a nation must also have
a “secure” stockpile.
Research and report on ways that countries can
be assured that only those who have authority
or reason to can gain access to these weapons.
This
benchmark is available as a PDF file: Benchmark_I.PDF
About Benchmarks
Benchmark Two
Benchmark Three
http://www.criticalissuesforum.org/bmk06_1.html
updated 03 November 2005
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