Opinion | Despite Putin’s bluster, the world is no closer to nuclear war
- Putin’s threats have sparked doomsday scenarios in the media but it is no more than propaganda, meant not so much for the world but for the Russian public
- No one can guarantee against a nuclear war but, for now, our world is in a state of nuclear equilibrium
Putin’s order, of course, has provided good fodder for the Western media. As nuclear weapons are frequently associated with world-ending catastrophe in popular thought, countless imaginative narratives have emerged in newspapers, on television and in other media around the world, instilling panic among citizens, as if nuclear war were at hand.
However, simply put, it won’t happen. Putin’s so-called threat is not “nuclear deterrence” or even “nuclear intimidation”. Rather, it is merely “nuclear propaganda”.
Nuclear deterrence occurs when the enormous power of nuclear weapons is used as a factor to prevent their use, for example, as a basis for bargaining. Leaders who have well-prepared strategies are less likely to want to intimidate others with their nuclear weapons arsenal.
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Just like the story of the boy who cried wolf, too many false alarms will only breed disbelief. What then, if nuclear weapons were actually fired? In reality, there is no need for such intimidation if one really wishes to use nuclear weapons.