Nuking for land : do nuclear weapons aid in coercive bargaining in territorial disputes?

Nuclear weapons are devastating instruments of war, that if used, have the potential to decimate entire cities and annihilate civilian population on an unfathomable scale. As such, it is no surprise that a credible nuclear threat can cause enormous terror and panic, possibly causing the target state...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Low, Jun Hong
Other Authors: Azusa Katagiri
Format: Final Year Project
Language:English
Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/139532
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
Description
Summary:Nuclear weapons are devastating instruments of war, that if used, have the potential to decimate entire cities and annihilate civilian population on an unfathomable scale. As such, it is no surprise that a credible nuclear threat can cause enormous terror and panic, possibly causing the target state to capitulate and accede to the challenger’s demands. This paper will examine whether nuclear weapons aid in coercive bargaining in general, and in territorial disputes. Statistical analysis using the MCT dataset will be employed, followed by a case study of the Third Taiwan Straits Crisis of 1995-1996. We find that nuclear weapons do not aid in compellence generally, and in territorial conflicts.