Analysis of the role of modern weapons in promoting conflicts
History reports that conventional warfare became revolutionized in the twentieth century. It was during this century that the first report of the UK Maud Committee came out with its maiden report about the usefulness of Uranium not just for the generation of power but also to design a lethal explosive device, it thus opened the floodgate for what has become known as the nuclear age. It was during this period that the Americans took the daring step of unleashing the horror of this device on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Judging from the harm these devices caused on its victims, global public opinion became united in placing a band on the usage of such extremely toxic materials against any form of humanity.
Today, the possession of these technologies is a mark of military power. Knowledge of the potential destructive nature of technologically driven weapons incited the crazy drive to possess them as a means of gaining military power. This drive brought in its wake arbitrary and often antagonistic rivalry between global forces. It was a drive for military supremacy, known as the arms race. By and large the rivalry in military empowerment begun to assume a complex political tool that became known as the East-West ideological conflict. This was a dispensation characterized by mutual mistrust and acrimony. The ultimate winner of this race would be determined by the side that is able to outdo its enemies in technological advancement. In order words the conflict went beyond ideological suspicion into wholesale technological competition.
The advancement in military technology development created an entirely apprehensive and insecure world order that had the potential for annihilation of unprecedented proportions. The threat also created another platform for cooperation since each of the conflicting sides was potentially dangerous, degenerated into conflict would be a zero sum effect that will not be in the interest of any side at the end of the day. .
One of the defining premise of the cooperative sessions was the need to work towards ultimately working towards the elimination of potentially dangerous technologically driven weapons since both sides understood that global security was very paramount. Civil society organizations and other interest groups took up the crusade to higher altitudes. Over three decades down the line, prying questions still remain unanswered as to the direction being towed by the current world order that is so revolutionized military engagements highly unprecedented in the annals of humanity.
What is the Role of Technology in Contemporary Armament?
Weapons of mass destruction are twentieth-century inventions. There is nothing
new, of course, about mass destruction. From ancient times a military campaign
often meant the massacre of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians.
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