Graduation Year
2022
Date of Submission
4-2022
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
International Relations
Reader 1
Lisa Koch
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
2022 Carley E Barnhart
Abstract
Regarded as the most powerful weapon ever created, the nuclear weapon is associated with mass destruction and even total annihilation. This thesis aims to answer the question: does the weapon of mass destruction impact masses equally? The use of three theoretical lenses is employed to guide this thesis’ analysis: the lenses of internal colonialism, neocolonialism, and feminism. These lenses allow for previously marginalized experiences to be placed at the center of analysis. The entirety of the ‘nuclear web’, from nuclear scholarship and nuclear decision-making to weapons design, creation, production, and disarmament is analyzed to understand the total impacts of the weapon and dismantle the belief that the impacts of nuclear weapons are limited to war-time use. This thesis concludes that nuclear weapons impact people of color and women disproportionately, as nuclear powers both operate in and perpetuate a patriarchal, colonial system.
Recommended Citation
Barnhart, Carley, "Does the Weapon of Mass Destruction Impact Masses Equally? Examining the Disproportionate Impacts of Nuclear Weapons" (2022). CMC Senior Theses. 3011.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/3011
