Conclusion

Abstract

Unlike any other weapon in the history of mankind, nuclear weapons were used in war twice — against Hiroshima and Nagasaki — and never again since then. Against this background, this book aimed to contribute to the literature in IR that analyzes this puzzling ‘nuclear non-use’. The goal was to both deepen and widen our knowledge about it by answering the following question: what can explain the persistent non-use of nuclear weapons after 1945, and how can we better understand (the causes of) this abstinence?