Sociology of

Nuclear
Terrorism
Jeremy Rosen
Overview
Many scholars believe the threat of nuclear
terrorism is overblown. Regardless, a nuclear
attack on a major U.S. city would pose
catastrophic consequences. As a result,
political leaders seek to guard against
terrorism, reduce nuclear proliferation, and
promote research that would save lives in the
event of a worst-case scenario. When
analyzing nuclear terrorism, it is important to
consider the social and economic motivations
for terrorists and the sociological effects of
terror on Americans.
Al Qaeda and the Tupamaros
A terrorist seeks to spread fear, panic and instability through a
populace (Dabrowski) by attracting media coverage and
forcing the government to make unpopular choices:
As in Iraq and Afghanistan, they may seek to expel
oppressive forces (Dabrowski).
Raul Sendic and the left-wing Tupamaros forced the
Uruguayan government to become repressive (Dabrowski).
Effects
The short, medium, and long-term effects of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings
demonstrate the human costs of a nuclear attack. Up to 200,000 people died in the
Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings (Counting the Dead). Flash and radiation injuries
have produced long-term (e.g. keloid scarring) and even generational effects (e.g. birth
defects and cancer).
The picture on the right is an artists representation of a nuclear attack on New York.
A Terrorists Perspective
People often envision terrorists as poor or suicidal people with little chance
of success. Osama Bin Laden did not fit this profile; his father Mohammad
bin Awad bin Laden was a billionaire.
A truck carrying cobalt-60 in Mexico was recently stolen (Reuters); the
cobalt-60 could be used to make a dirty bomb.
Government Policy
Congress created the Sam Nunn-Richard Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program,
an initiative to dismantle nuclear weapons in former Second World countries (Sharp and
Poff).
In the event of an attack, the government would focus on saving the individuals suffering
from radiation poisoning, not those facing certain death (Goldman). Radiation is
measured in grays; 2-10 grays will prove fatal without adequate treatment (Goldman).
Palliative care is the current standard for treating radiation poisoning (Goldman).
Social Problems
From Robert Heiners Social Problems: An Introduction to Critical Constructionism:
Social problema phenomenon that a significant number of people regard as undesirable
Conflict theorythe capitalist elite have more power to shape public perception on social
problems
Symbolic interactionismthe elite and non-elite have differing views on social problems
Critical constructionismthe elite often influence popular constructions of social problems
Determinismexternal forces, not necessarily free will, are responsible for individual behavior
Corporate mediathe media, which has the power to shape public opinion, is privately owned
and exists in part to earn a profit and protect corporate interests
Heiner argues that corporate crime (e.g. pollution as in GEs dumping of PCBs in the Hudson
River, along with unsafe products like cigarettes) is more damaging than street crime.
Critical constructionism does not hold that there is a conspiracy among political, media, and
corporate officials to divert attention away from their questionable activities but that, due to their
unity of interests, things work out as if there were a conspiracy (153).
Indian Point
About 20 million people live within 50 miles of Indian Point, which is 35 miles from
Midtown Manhattan, but there are no formal evacuation plans in place for the city and
suburbia (Gilbert). The picture at right shows 10 and 50-mile radii around Indian Point;
evacuation plans exist for the 10-Mile Zone, which does not include the city.
Works Cited
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