Description
Nuclear deterrence presents an existential threat to future generations through the potential nuclear winter effects of large-scale nuclear war. With over 12,000 warheads, the current global arsenal has the capacity to devastate the environment and living conditions of our descendants many times over. Yet, intergenerational justice concerns remain peripheral in nuclear policy discussions, with the present generation failing to enact adequate measures to protect future ones. How can this apathy be explained?
This paper employs Anthony Downs' “issue-attention cycle” model to explore how the nuclear threat initially captured public attention, only to gradually fade from focus. Downs suggests that once a problem has gone through the cycle, it may sporadically regain public attention and typically commands a higher average level of consideration compared to those that have not. However, when considering generational timescales, the lack of direct visual reminders or firsthand experiences related to nuclear weapons may cause new generations to gradually accept the post-problem stage of the cycle – essentially, the nuclear status quo – as normal. This normalization process shifts the baseline for what is perceived as acceptable and contributes to long-term apathy regarding obligations to future generations.
