Nuclear Proliferation the norm

[Sirius]

Construct a scenario in which nuclear armaments are a normal part of any somewhat developed country's arsenal.

 

[asnys]

My usual answer to this is a different Korean War: the US Army is almost pushed off Pusan, and Truman decides to authorize the use of atomic weapons to stem the tide. At the time, the nuclear taboo hadn't yet gelled, and this could break it permanently.

 

[Delta Force]

Proliferation is both a historical and potential future issue. Prior to the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, experts were predicting three dozen nuclear powers by the year 2000. There are worries that the situations with the DPRK and Iran will lead to regional arms races and collapse the NNPT.

 

[Sabot Cat]

Proliferation is both a historical and potential future issue. Prior to the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, experts were predicting three dozen nuclear powers by the year 2000. There are worries that the situations with the DPRK and Iran will lead to regional arms races and collapse the NNPT.

Indeed, an oft over-looked detail of the 2001: A Space Odyssey novel is the rampant nuclear proliferation. There, the 'Chinese Empire' is selling nuclear weapons to its allies on the cheap either because they have even deadlier weapons or to help shore up their desperate economic situation; I'm not sure of the plausibility of China selling nukes to say, Vietnam and Laos, but stranger things have happened.

 

[UncleDynamite]

My usual answer is that, for maximum nuclear proliferation, have the WAllies win WWII and the USSR not dominate Europe. Without the Cold War, the US will fall into a spirit of isolationism similar to what happened after WWI and decides that she's only going to play in her backyard(Latin America and the Pacific) from now on. There's no NATO or Warsaw Pact(or global system of alliances in general) and ATL's equivalent of the Marshall Plan(In the TL I'm working on, it's the Vandenberg Plan) is comparatively paltry, speeding up decolonization. Pretty soon, the nations of the world realize that only they can protect themselves, and one option is singularly attractive: the nuclear bomb.