International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

During the Cold War, the concept of deterrence was often used as a term for nuclear deterrence with the use of nuclear weapons, but the term fell into relative obscurity, in broad strokes, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Thereafter, nuclear forces tended to play a marginal and diminishing role for many policymakers in the 1990s and 2000s. The topic of nuclear weapons has not been included in political debates of the countries for more than twenty years. Therefore, the threat of nuclear weapons appeared remote and debates often centred on a nuclear-free world’s possibility of proliferation and expectations. However,over the past few years though, this has changed significantly. The primary and regional powers are increasingly modernising their nuclear forces and are starting to give them a central role in their large strategic positions. Nuclear deterrence has come up again in such a setting

It has been more than seven decades since the world’s first nuclear bomb was dropped on two Japanese cities. Since then, nine different countries have acquired nuclear weapons technology. Nuclear weapons, undoubtedly, are a hazardous power for a country. They do not only have explosive power; the power of deterrence may be more prominent than nuclear disintegration. During the Cold War era, nuclear weapons were used for deterrence effects. Two superpowers were in an endless arms race, significantly so, over these tremendous weapons. Fortunately, they were never used but deterrence was always a hot topic. However, nuclear weapons have always shown the evolution of classical geopolitics alongside the importance of today’s geopolitics which has been very much at the top of world politics since the first World War and even though countries are separated by great distances, nuclear weapons’ ranges mean that a country’s territory can be reached easily. Currently, these weapons are shaping countries’ defence policies, geopolitics strategies and their interests.