Nuclear Politics

As of 2006, many countries are able to use nuclear energy. Nuclear power plants are a common source of energy. Most of Europe gets 50% of its energy from nuclear power plants. Nuclear energy can also be used for warfare, in addition to being used for power. This has lead to many alliances within countries and groups, like the United Nations, of which one example would be the non-proliferation act between India and the USA. This treaty guarantees India the right to use US civil nuclear reactors, in exchange for India to not develop its own. Many other treaties like this example have been signed. The most notable is the NPT. The NPT is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This prevents countries with access to nuclear energy to spread it to other nations. The NPT has had 188 sovereign states party to the treaty. However, Pakistan and India, who are nuclear powers, along with Israel, another nuclear power, have neither ratified, nor signed the treaty. North Korea, another nuclear power, had signed it, broke it, and then withdrew. The treaty was first suggested by Ireland. Finland was the first to sign. USA, UK, and the Soviet Union were also a few notable signers. The treaty was created mostly because of the fear that violence may erupt because of the fragile peace in the cold war. The treaty is based on three pillars: non-proliferation, disarmament, and peaceful use of nuclear energy. Nations that consented to the treaty must agree not to proliferate the technology, limit the number of nuclear warheads, and promise to only nuclear technology for peaceful reasons. One other truce regarding nuclear use is the "no first use" policy, which promises that the nation will not attack first, and will use nuclear power only if it had aldready been attacked.