The Rise of Nationalist Populist Leaders and Nuclear Order

Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.

^* Corresponding author. Email: pt20ys@leeds.ac.uk

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the rise of nationalist-populist leaders in nuclear-armed states on the nuclear order and whether they may enhance the probability of nuclear war. Trump and Putin will serve as case examples in this paper, as the United States and Russia are the world’s two most powerful nuclear-armed states. Trump is an illustration of how social media may affect nuclear order. His comments on social media about nuclear weapons are unreliable and do not reflect the national attitude. Putin used nuclear threats to legitimise his leadership and protect Russia’s position as a powerful nation, rather than to prepare for an actual nuclear war, according to an analysis of his actions. Thus, this essay argues that nationalist populists may weaken nuclear order but may not raise the risk of trigger a nuclear war. Misperceptions among governments could be the direct cause of the danger of nuclear war rather than the rise of nationalist populist leaders.