harvard university democracy and nuclear weapons cannot …national geographic. dec 2015 “the...

MITBuilding34April2,2016

ReducingtheDangersofNuclearWar

ElaineScarryHarvardUniversity

DemocracyandNuclearWeaponsCannotCo-Exist

Alfred Eisenstaedt,“MotherandChildinHiroshima, Japan,December1945.”GettyImages

Meridel Rubenstein“FourElements”1993

NASA

BlueMarble

InjurytothePersonsandtoEarth

InternationalLawprohibitsthisinjury

InternationalLawsolvestheproblemof“statisticalcompassion”

NationalLawsolvestheproblemof“statisticalcompassion”

NuclearWeaponsFreeZonesInternationalLawandPolicy Institution

NuclearWeaponsFreeZonesandNuclearWeaponsStatesWiki

JohnAinslieDisarmingTridentTimetable

• Two brakes onwarmaking inU.S.Constitution

Firstbrake:Article1section8clause11NowarwithoutaCongressional“DeclarationofWar”

Secondbrake:SecondAmendment

WhataretheformalfeaturesofaCongressional“DeclarationofWar”inthefivecaseswheretheU.S.hashadadeclaration?

Warof1812(withEngland)Mexican-AmericanWar1846SpanishAmericanWar1898WorldWarIWorldWarII

Whataretheformalfeaturesofpresidentialdeliberationaboutusinganuclearweapon?

TaiwanStraitsCrisis1954BerlinCrisis1959

• CongressionalDeliberationvs.PresidentialDeliberation•• VisibletothePublic InvisibletoPublicforthirty

years•• Clearsetofsentences Noclearstatementofaction•• ConspicuouslystagedvoteNovote•• ParticipantsequalParticipantsaresubordinates•• Dissentandcontestation: Nodissent.Nocontestation.• Testing Notesting.

• SecondBrake:TheRighttoBearArms

1Constitutionarrangesformany“interveninglayersofresistanthumanity”

2Resistanthumanity?Dosoldiersdissent?

3SecondAmendmentarrivesduringratificationofConstitution:Adistributionalrequirementcreatedduringdistributionalmoment

4Supportedbymilitaristsandpacifistsalike

5CivilstatureinU.S.ispremisedonmilitarystature15th,19th,and26Amendments

• Doublebrakeprovidestwogatesofauthorization

• DoublelocationiswhatdifferentiatesstatutorylawfromConstitutionallaw:ConstitutionallawrequirespassagebyCongressandratificationbypopulation

• 5000amendmentsproposed;27passed

WarmakingrequirespassagebyCongressandratificationbypopulation

ConstitutionsofOtherNuclearStates`` FrenchConstitution

Article35Article89

IndianConstitutionArticle246

RussianFederationConstitution(l993)Article102Article59

•••

fromElaineScarryThermonuclearMonarchy

AtthecloseoftheSecondTreatiseofGovernment(inthechapterexaminingthelegitimategroundsforrebellion),Lockequotesamemorableobservationaboutoneofhistory’styrants: “AndofCaligula...hewisht thatthepeoplehadbutoneneck,thathemightdispatchthemallatablow.” NuclearweaponsandthehighlypracticedarrangementsfortheirusehavemadeCaligula’swishcometrue:thepeopleofearthnowhavebutoneneckandcanbedispatchedallatablow.ItdoesnotmatterthatthethermonuclearmonarchswhopresideoverustodayareordinarilymuchnicerpeoplethanCaligula,foritisthenucleararchitectureitselfthatliteralizesandmonumentalizesCaligula;theindividualpersonalitiesofourmonarchs,andthealwaysamusingdifferencesamongthem,areatbestatemporarycheckonavaststructureofcrueltythatstandsreadytobeused.Itisnationalmonarchs,notterrorists,whohaveputthisinplaceandreadieditforuse,whetherbythemselvesorbystatelessactors.Anditisthesecolossalstructuresofillegitimatenon-governancethatmustbedismantled.

Meridel Rubenstien “NuclearTrigger”1993

TheFlooroftheWorldElaineScarry

Imaginethatthereonedaycametoexistonearth—sometimeinthefuture—asolitarycountrywithanewtechnology.Thetechnologyhasletthissolitarycountrystationadoor(ormoreprecisely,aseriesofdoors)underthefloorofeveryothercountryintheworld.

Iftheleaderofthesolitarycountryeverfeelsimperiledorimpededbyanothercountry,hecanopenthetrapdoorand,inasingleday,eliminatethepopulationofthatrivalcountry.Becausethearrangementofdoorsbeneatheachnationalfloorissectioned,theleadercanalter- nativelychoosetoeliminatejustpartoftheenemycountry,afourthofit,orathirdofit;hemightchoosetoopenthedoorsbeneaththeflooroftheopponent’smilitaryinstallationsonly,therebyeliminatingthoseinstallationsand,say,one-thirtiethofthecountry’spopulation.Asashorthand,thisingenioustechnologyandthepoliciesthatenableitsusemightbecalledtheFlexibleFloorDoctrine ....

ArchitectCarolinaDayer’s Renderingof“TheFlooroftheWorld”

ArchitectMagdalenaEgues’s Renderingof“TheFlooroftheWorld”

AdrianaRossArchitect

AdrianaRossArchitect

ArchitecturalStudentKristineProchnau’s Renderingof“Floorof theWorld”

NationalGeographic.Dec2015“TheFormidable,FragileBeautyofWarmingLandscapes”PhotographsbyFernandoMoleres IcesheetsinGreenland.

ScientificAmerican“ArcticBeautyinBlackandWhite:AlaskaBeforetheEffectsofGlobalWarming”8blackandwhitephotographs.

WiredMagazine:“BeautifulPolarPhotosTellaHauntingStoryaboutClimateChange”PhotographsbyCamilleSeaman(andstorybyJakob Schiller)

NASA.“ClimateChange:VitalSignsofthePlanet:BeautifulEarth