In his popular book “Perpetual Peace; A Philosophical Sketch,” Kant, a prominent German political philosopher of the late 18th century, describes possible paths to achieving his conception of perpetual peace. To this end, he prescribed in his book, six preliminary articles which described the measures to be taken immediately and three definitive articles (plus one secret article) which described the measures to be taken in the future while working on it, in order to deter war /establish peace. If Kant were to present his views on the acquisition of nuclear arsenals and the policy of nuclear deterrence adopted by many countries today, he would most likely criticize and condemn this idea. This essay presents several pieces of evidence from Kant's own writings to support the claim that Kant disapproves of nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence and suggests Kant's ultimate conclusion on this discourse. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction that use the process of nuclear fusion, fission, or both to release energy. energy in an explosive manner, causing an immeasurable amount of destruction. In history, such a terrible method of warfare was only used twice during World War II by the United States against Japan, and the fatal consequences of this method still exist today. The strategy of nuclear deterrence has been used since then. According to Britannica, deterrence is the military strategy in which a power effectively uses the threat of retaliation to prevent an attack by an opposing power. Countries with nuclear weapons use deterrence theory to explain their goal of acquiring and maintaining nuclear arsenals. Whatever the reason, nuclear weapons nevertheless pose a direct threat to world peace. Kant believes that the state of nature is not a state of peace but a state of constant war, but this does not justify the existence of war. Kant believes that as moral progress continues, people will come to hate war and move toward establishing peace. Since war obstructs the ultimate goal of establishing perpetual peace, the use of nuclear weapons in war can also be seen as an obstacle to achieving peace. According to the First Preliminary Article on Perpetual Peace Between States, Kant states that “no peace treaty will be held valid where there is a question tacitly reserved for future war (Kant). » He believes that such a treaty is only a delay in hostility and not the achievement of perpetual peace. Treaties such as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons have been signed by many countries in order to promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, to prevent the proliferation and use of nuclear weapons, and ultimately to lead to nuclear disarmament. Unless these treaties came into force immediately, Kant would consider them invalid. For example, the Limited Test Ban Treaty signed in August 1963 prohibits testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, in space, underwater and in any other environment if the explosions cause the presence of radioactive debris outside the territory of a responsible State. Such treaties would be considered null and void by Kant because they do not guarantee the complete elimination of the possibility of future war. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which absolutely does not allowcountry to possess nuclear weapons, could be considered valid according to Kant because it eliminates a source of war, thus reducing the possibility of future war. Therefore, the possession of nuclear weapons, even when states agree not to use them, does not completely eliminate the possibility that they will not use these weapons in the future. According to the third preliminary article on perpetual peace between states, Kant believes that the abolition of standing armies as soon as possible is a necessary step that must be taken to perpetuate peace (Kant). He believes that the existence of standing armies in itself causes aggression and threat of war to others. In today's world, the possession of nuclear weapons can be considered a standing army since it pursues the same objective. The entire theory of nuclear deterrence itself rests on this basis, namely a weapon ready for war. Most countries that possess nuclear weapons today claim that they obtained them only for defensive purposes. But according to Kant, this would serve the purpose of a standing army and therefore a likely cause of future war. Furthermore, Kant would suggest that the amount of funds used for the acquisition and maintenance of nuclear power becomes a burden on the state that the country would eventually want to rid itself of by using it. The use of nuclear weapons would also mean being ready to sacrifice one's own people if war broke out and since this idea is hardly compatible with the rights of humanity (according to Kant), the objective of achieving perpetual peace by eliminating war and advancing humanity. rights, would be compromised again. The fourth preliminary article for perpetual peace between the States states that national debts should not be contracted with a view to external friction of the States (Kant). Here again, Kant was indirectly proposing that countries should not allow war financing to become easy. He suggests that when countries accept financial aid or debt from other countries for war purposes, it creates dangerous monetary power in a country. This ease of waging war, as well as the propensity of leaders to wage it – a tendency which seems innate in human nature – therefore constitutes a major obstacle to perpetual peace (Kant). Today, countries trade nuclear weapons with each other and even take on debts from other countries to finance their nuclear programs. Kant disapproves of such exchanges because they hinder the achievement of perpetual peace and can become a possible cause of war. Additionally, the sixth and final preliminary article on perpetual peace between states also supports the claim that Kant would criticize or even condemn the act of possessing. nuclear weapons or nuclear deterrence. In this article, Kant states that no state should, during war, permit such acts of hostility which would make mutual trust in subsequent peace impossible. Although Kant mentioned other evil acts here such as sending spies, poisoners, using a nuclear weapon on another country would have a similar effect. For example, since the United States used nuclear weapons against Japan during World War II, relations between the two countries have not been properly established. This act created hostility between the countries for years. In addition, countries that have not agreed to sign a treaty prohibiting the use of nuclear weapons become a cause of hostility for other states and can become a possible cause of war. Although most of Kant's writings suggest that he is totally opposed to war and believes that peace will only be achieved when all.