The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate
E291364
The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate is a seminal work in international relations that presents a structured exchange—primarily between Kenneth N. Waltz and Scott D. Sagan—on whether the proliferation of nuclear weapons increases or decreases global security.
All labels observed (2)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate canonical | 1 |
| The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Renewed | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T2694664 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Context triple: [Kenneth N. Waltz, notableWork, The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate]
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A.
Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy
Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy is a 1957 book by Henry Kissinger that analyzes the strategic role of nuclear weapons in Cold War diplomacy and argues for more flexible, limited nuclear options in U.S. foreign policy.
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B.
Rogue States and Nuclear Outlaws
Rogue States and Nuclear Outlaws is a non-fiction book by Michael Klare that analyzes the threats posed by so-called "rogue" nations and the spread of nuclear weapons in the post–Cold War era.
-
C.
Why Nuclear Disarmament Matters
"Why Nuclear Disarmament Matters" is a book by former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix that argues for the urgent global reduction and eventual elimination of nuclear weapons.
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D.
Nuclear Weapons Life Extension Programs
Nuclear Weapons Life Extension Programs are U.S. initiatives that refurbish and modernize aging nuclear warheads to ensure their safety, security, and reliability without producing new weapon designs.
-
E.
The Age of Deception: Nuclear Diplomacy in Treacherous Times
The Age of Deception: Nuclear Diplomacy in Treacherous Times is a memoir and analysis by former IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei that examines global nuclear politics, diplomatic crises, and the misuse of intelligence in the post–Cold War era.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Target entity description: The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate is a seminal work in international relations that presents a structured exchange—primarily between Kenneth N. Waltz and Scott D. Sagan—on whether the proliferation of nuclear weapons increases or decreases global security.
-
A.
Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy
Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy is a 1957 book by Henry Kissinger that analyzes the strategic role of nuclear weapons in Cold War diplomacy and argues for more flexible, limited nuclear options in U.S. foreign policy.
-
B.
Rogue States and Nuclear Outlaws
Rogue States and Nuclear Outlaws is a non-fiction book by Michael Klare that analyzes the threats posed by so-called "rogue" nations and the spread of nuclear weapons in the post–Cold War era.
-
C.
Why Nuclear Disarmament Matters
"Why Nuclear Disarmament Matters" is a book by former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix that argues for the urgent global reduction and eventual elimination of nuclear weapons.
-
D.
Nuclear Weapons Life Extension Programs
Nuclear Weapons Life Extension Programs are U.S. initiatives that refurbish and modernize aging nuclear warheads to ensure their safety, security, and reliability without producing new weapon designs.
-
E.
The Age of Deception: Nuclear Diplomacy in Treacherous Times
The Age of Deception: Nuclear Diplomacy in Treacherous Times is a memoir and analysis by former IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei that examines global nuclear politics, diplomatic crises, and the misuse of intelligence in the post–Cold War era.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
book
ⓘ
non-fiction book ⓘ work of international relations theory ⓘ |
| addresses |
Cold War nuclear dynamics
ⓘ
nuclear accidents and near misses ⓘ nuclear command and control issues ⓘ post–Cold War nuclear proliferation ⓘ regional nuclear rivalries ⓘ |
| aimsTo |
analyze organizational sources of nuclear risk
ⓘ
assess conditions for stable nuclear deterrence ⓘ evaluate the consequences of the spread of nuclear weapons ⓘ |
| argumentPosition |
presents anti-proliferation arguments
ⓘ
presents pro-proliferation arguments ⓘ |
| author |
Kenneth N. Waltz
ⓘ
Scott D. Sagan ⓘ |
| centralQuestion | whether nuclear proliferation increases or decreases global security ⓘ |
| centralTheme |
deterrence stability
ⓘ
effects of organizational behavior on nuclear safety ⓘ risks of accidental or unauthorized nuclear use ⓘ stability–instability paradox ⓘ |
| genre |
international relations
ⓘ
security studies ⓘ |
| hasPart |
essay by Kenneth N. Waltz
ⓘ
essay by Scott D. Sagan ⓘ |
| hasPerspective |
proliferation optimism associated with Kenneth N. Waltz
ⓘ
proliferation pessimism associated with Scott D. Sagan ⓘ |
| inAcademicDiscipline |
international relations
ⓘ
political science ⓘ security studies ⓘ |
| influenced |
debates on nuclear policy
ⓘ
scholarship on nuclear deterrence ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| mainSubject |
international security
ⓘ
nuclear deterrence ⓘ nuclear proliferation ⓘ proliferation optimism vs pessimism debate ⓘ |
| notableFor |
influence on nuclear proliferation scholarship
ⓘ
presentation of proliferation optimism ⓘ presentation of proliferation pessimism ⓘ structured debate format between Waltz and Sagan ⓘ |
| theoreticalApproach |
bureaucratic politics
ⓘ
neorealism ⓘ organizational theory ⓘ |
| usedAs |
core reading in nuclear security seminars
ⓘ
university textbook in international relations courses ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Description of subject: The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate is a seminal work in international relations that presents a structured exchange—primarily between Kenneth N. Waltz and Scott D. Sagan—on whether the proliferation of nuclear weapons increases or decreases global security.
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Renewed