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Unparalleled catastrophe

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Unparalleled catastrophe chronicles and critically analyses recent events that have brought about a dangerous Third Nuclear Age. It presents the case for rethinking how we understand nuclear weapon...
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  • 03 June 2025
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After the first use of nuclear weapons in 1945, Albert Einstein warned that 'we thus drift towards unparalleled catastrophe'. Today we are no longer drifting but racing toward catastrophe at breakneck speed. This book analyses recent events that have brought about a dangerous Third Nuclear Age. From the collapse of arms control treaties and the development of hypersonic missiles, to the pop culture that shapes how we think about nuclear weapons, via how nuclear weapons intersect with the global threats posed by pandemics, populism, climate change, corruption, militarism, and racism, this book explores the nuclear zeitgeist of today. It presents the case for critical nuclear studies, and provides an important intervention into debates about nuclear weapons and international security. Today, the planet stands on the brink of catastrophe. This book tells you why, and what we can do about it.
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Price: £25.00
Pages: 216
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Publication Date: 03 June 2025
ISBN: 9781526191298
Format: Paperback
BISACs:

HISTORY / Military / Nuclear Warfare, Nuclear weapons, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Peace, POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General, Peace studies and conflict resolution, Armed conflict
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Winner of the ISA Best Book in Science, Technology and Art in International Studies 2025 Award

'This is a timely and excellent book as President Putin lifts a ban on the testing of nuclear weapons and is facing pressure to develop Russia’s nuclear arsenal. This is one of the first books on the Third Nuclear Age and there will be many more. It has additional merit that it is short and rightly concludes that it is not enough to say “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”. Unless we return to meaningful nuclear negotiations between nuclear weapon states, there will be a war in which nuclear weapons are used.'
Lord David Owen, Former Foreign Secretary

'The construction of the Third Nuclear Age rests on language and representations, and this book explores how nuclear weapons are understood by their illustration in a variety of contexts, from official policy documents to pop songs and social media memes... The multidisciplinary approach of this book makes it an essential read for everyone seeking to understand and comprehend the contemporary nuclear politics.'
Aleena Saeed, Modern Diplomacy

Introduction
1 'We thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophe': a brief history of nuclear weapons
2 'Fire and fury like the world has never seen': understanding the Third Nuclear Age
3 'I got it. I got it. Why don't we nuke them?', August to October 2019
4 'This is a high time for hypersonic missiles', November 2019 to January 2020
5 'The world of post-apocalypse movies', February to April 2020
6 'I can’t breathe', May to July 2020
7 'Money meant for face masks', August to October 2020
8 'A force that would shatter our nation rather than share it', November 2020 to January 2021
Conclusion: it’s not enough to say 'a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought', February 2021 to the present
Index