THE EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR WAR AND THE IMPACT ON THE SOCIAL ORGANISATION OF THE MODERN NATION-STATE

Abstract

The prospect of a nuclear conflict can be viewed as a concept of terrifying significance to civilisation. It is a contingency that is the antithesis to human existence in organised societies. The following paper is an examination of the effects, which can be brought upon mankind through the large-scale deployment of nuclear weapons and the impact upon the structure of modern civilisation, viewed through the lens of organisations theory. The paper presents some of the principal short-term and long-term consequences from the utilisation of nuclear weapons, based upon research covering the past five decades. The paper examines the impact of nuclear weapons on society by presenting the modern nation-state as a complex social organisation, whose social structure and complexity would be severely degraded. The paper concludes that the deployment of nuclear weapons in the modern era would have consequences of utmost severity in transforming national societies and the nation state, severely altering, or outright eliminating their ability to function effectively and necessitating societal readjustment and even devolution to ensure survival.