Nuclear imperialism is a phrase that describes an intersection ofimperialism andnuclear weapons technology. It can have multiple meanings:
The phrase has been extensively applied to the nuclear weapons testing, especially of multi-megaton, high-falloutthermonuclear weapons in the Pacific carried out by the United States, Britain, and France. The United States tested at thePacific Proving Grounds, especiallyBikini Atoll, Britain tested atMalden Island andKiritimati, and France tested inFrench Polynesia. This manifested as a disregard for the health of native Pacific Islanders, leading to improper evacuation procedures, exposing them to a range ofradiation poisoning effects, especiallychronic radiation syndrome. This causedcancers,cataracts,miscarriages,stillbirths, and fatalbirth defects. This has been characterized as a form ofslow violence. Evidence also indicates islanders were used for non-consensualhuman subject research on the effects of radiation.[1] One particular disaster was the USCastle Bravo test, which also contaminated the Japanese fishing vesselDaigo Fukuryū Maru.
The phrase is also applied to thePan-African movement's responses to French nuclear testing in Algeria, which intersected with theAlgerian War of Independence. American activists includingBayard Rustin andBill Sutherland worked with the newly independentGhana led byKwame Nkrumah, in criticizing France's tests in theSahara that were characterized as a "Hiroshima in Africa".[2][3]
The phrase is also applied to situations where a state considers or threatens use of nuclear weapons against an opponent without nuclear weapons. It has been applied to nuclear attacks considered by the United States during early stages of theCold War in Asia, particularly theKorean War, theFirst Indochina War, theFirst Taiwan Strait Crisis.[4]