Ukrayna Örneğinden Hareketle Nükleer Silahsızlanmanın Olası Sonuçlarına Dair Bir İnceleme
An Analysis of the Potential Consequences of Denuclearization with Reference to Ukraine

Summary/Abstract: Nuclear weapons reduce the likelihood of war and conflict among nuclear-armed states. States that are in an inferior position in the military balance gain “absolute deterrence”, if they possess nuclear weapons.Nuclear weapons are, therefore, functional devices in calibrating deterrence asymmetry between weak and strong states in favor of the former. In this article’s case study, Russia-Ukraine relations, should be understood in this light. As witnessed during the 2014 Ukraine crisis, Russia violated Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity through military incursions into Crimea and Donbas. In the light of Russia’s military actions, discussions surrounding Ukraine’s elimination of its nuclear arsenal, which took place during the 1990’s, have surfaced again. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited the world’s third largest nuclear weapons stockpile, which it removed from its soil during a process that was completed in 1996. This work seeks to trace this process and analyze the potential impacts of Ukraine’s nuclear disarmament with reference to the 2014 crisis. By way of conclusion, it is argued in the context of the 2014 crisis that, denuclearization constitutes a potential national security risk for states (Ukraine) that face formidable nuclear-armed rivals (Russia).

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