![]() An analysis of the influence of humanist voices on the debate about the role of nuclear weapons is beyond the scope of this paper instead, see Wertsch (1987) and Mehan and Wills (1988). Such naive romantics wish for an idyllic world but lack the courage to face up to the hard choices about nuclear weapons dictated by the Soviet Union, a nation bent on world domination: `The state of mind Schell wants Americans to be in would permit the Russians to manipulate the threat of nuclear holocaust as a cover for new and dangerous aggressions' (Kahn, 1982). `Realists' such as Kahn dismiss humanistic critics as hopeless romantics: Schell's `prescription for forestalling the holocaust is morally uninspiring and politically naive' (Kahn, 1982). Because we live in a dangerous world, nuclear weapons are needed to curb the aggressive instincts of the Soviet Union. They go on to reject humanistic appeals for `being out of touch with reality' (e.g. Voices speaking a strategic discourse responded to these humanistic appeals by agreeing with their assessments of the devastating consequences of global nuclear war and reminding their critics that the premises of deterrence policy are intended to insure that horrible eventuality would never occur. The challenge of humanistic voices like Schell's (see also Caldicott, 1985) lies in their attempts to introduce apocalyptic scenarios in the cold war script written by nuclear strategists. In a series of articles in The New Yorker, Jonathan Schell (1982) combined exhaustive reporting on the medical and ecological implications of an all-out nuclear war with a passionate vision for a new world order needed to prevent the earth's destruction. A third, albeit more diffuse challenge was voiced in humanistic terms. Our analysis suggests Gorbachev was led to an alternative security vision for the superpowers by the West's loss of discursive control over nuclear weapons, which occurred when the Reagan Administration breached the conventions that tied cold war discourse together.ฤก. It is more difficult for the US to use the Soviet Union as a rationale for its policies when the Soviet threat is removed from US strategic discourse. In this newly opened discourse space, Gorbachev challenged the most basic convention of cold war discourse, the Soviet threat, by denying the US an enemy. Reagan's abolitionist moves breached the convention of relying on nuclear weapons to counter the threat of Soviet expansion. SDI countered the moral phrasings of the bishops and silenced the peace movement, but only by further undermining cold war conventions. To repair this breach, the Reagan Administration advocated a strategic defense and considered abolishing nuclear weapons entirely. Humanists fearful of nuclear destruction, moralists condemning the sinful nature of nuclear war, and peace activists demanding a freeze on the production of nuclear weapons challenged this discourse move and struggled to reset the parameters of the nuclear conversation. the purpose of nuclear weapons is to avoid war, not fight war. This new mode of representing nuclear weapons breached the deterrence convention, i.e. The Reagan Administration talked publicly about nuclear weapons as a way to win a nuclear war. The power and importance of discourse conventions in the cold war are revealed through their breach. All subjects Allied Health Cardiology & Cardiovascular Medicine Dentistry Emergency Medicine & Critical Care Endocrinology & Metabolism Environmental Science General Medicine Geriatrics Infectious Diseases Medico-legal Neurology Nursing Nutrition Obstetrics & Gynecology Oncology Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine Otolaryngology Palliative Medicine & Chronic Care Pediatrics Pharmacology & Toxicology Psychiatry & Psychology Public Health Pulmonary & Respiratory Medicine Radiology Research Methods & Evaluation Rheumatology Surgery Tropical Medicine Veterinary Medicine Cell Biology Clinical Biochemistry Environmental Science Life Sciences Neuroscience Pharmacology & Toxicology Biomedical Engineering Engineering & Computing Environmental Engineering Materials Science Anthropology & Archaeology Communication & Media Studies Criminology & Criminal Justice Cultural Studies Economics & Development Education Environmental Studies Ethnic Studies Family Studies Gender Studies Geography Gerontology & Aging Group Studies History Information Science Interpersonal Violence Language & Linguistics Law Management & Organization Studies Marketing & Hospitality Music Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution Philosophy Politics & International Relations Psychoanalysis Psychology & Counseling Public Administration Regional Studies Religion Research Methods & Evaluation Science & Society Studies Social Work & Social Policy Sociology Special Education Urban Studies & Planning BROWSE JOURNALS
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