home, and gained a confidence that would last beyond the war. During and after the war, various conferences were held among the Allies, conferences that would become statements of principle and the basis of post-war institutions like the United Nations. After the war, American society had to face new challenges with the polarization of the world into two opposing camps, the proliferation of nuclear weaponry, the war in Korea showing a new power in China and a new importance for Asia, and fears of communist propaganda and infiltration at home. The image created of the period, through the 1950s, is an image of a society in fear, a society with new enemies, enemies not as clearly defined as earlier enemies. This was a society at war without there being a war, and thus the "war" was now at home as well as abroad.
It was in this context that fears of nuclear proliferation first developed. During the 1960s, it was predicted by many that if nothing were done about the possibility, there would be 20 or 30 avowed nuclear weapons states by now. There are in fact only five, along with three other "threshold" states which might be able to achieve nuclear weaponry in the near future. One of the forces that has prevented the spread of weapons to a wider number of countries is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The NPT system has steadily expanded since 1970, with much progress in recent years--China has joined, as have France, South Africa, and most of the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union. Argentina and Algeria have announced their intention to join, and Chile and Brazil have announced that they will not acquire nuclear weapons. The NPT now has 165 countries as signatories:
The NPT's entry into force in 1970 transformed the acquisition of nuclear weapons from an act of national pride into a violation of international law. If it crumbles indeed, if cracks are detected a great deal of the nuclear secur...