Ward Hayes Wilson
@wardhayeswilson.bsky.social
Realist working to eliminate nuclear weapons. (Not an IR “Realist,” just, you know, an everyday realist.)
If you want to prevent nuclear war, you have to eliminate nuclear weapons. If you want to eliminate nuclear weapons, you have to show that they're not militarily useful.
October 14, 2025 at 1:43 PM
If you want to prevent nuclear war, you have to eliminate nuclear weapons. If you want to eliminate nuclear weapons, you have to show that they're not militarily useful.
I was recently invited on Michael J. Ard’s excellent podcast, Inside Intelligence, to talk about why nuclear weapons haven’t been used in 80 years and whether they might be used sometime in the near future. Michael is former CIA, smart, and on the right track.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uknO...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uknO...
Inside Intelligence presents “Why Nuclear War Hasn’t Happened (Yet)”
YouTube video by JHU Advanced Academic Programs
www.youtube.com
October 3, 2025 at 3:02 PM
I was recently invited on Michael J. Ard’s excellent podcast, Inside Intelligence, to talk about why nuclear weapons haven’t been used in 80 years and whether they might be used sometime in the near future. Michael is former CIA, smart, and on the right track.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uknO...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uknO...
I’m publishing a series of essays that bring rarely discussed evidence and new realist thinking to bear on the important and troubling question: Did two atomic bombs win the war with Japan? The result will surprise you and change what you think.
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/the-empero...
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/the-empero...
The Emperor Speaks . . . Twice
Did the Bomb do it?
wardhayeswilson.substack.com
July 13, 2025 at 5:17 PM
I’m publishing a series of essays that bring rarely discussed evidence and new realist thinking to bear on the important and troubling question: Did two atomic bombs win the war with Japan? The result will surprise you and change what you think.
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/the-empero...
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/the-empero...
Some disturbing news from Russia and Pakistan. open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...
Warning Signs
When to take cartoonish danger seriously
open.substack.com
May 4, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Some disturbing news from Russia and Pakistan. open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...
I write a little about the strange notion that the only way to eliminate nuclear weapons is if one country "goes first."
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/a-few-word...
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/a-few-word...
A Few Words about this "Laying Down Our Weapons" S#!t
Where the heck do people get these ideas?
wardhayeswilson.substack.com
April 24, 2025 at 10:31 PM
I write a little about the strange notion that the only way to eliminate nuclear weapons is if one country "goes first."
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/a-few-word...
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/a-few-word...
Part IV of the Nuclear Mystery series is out, exploring why the French didn't use nuclear weapons to save the day when their troops were surrounded at Dien Bien Phu.
open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...
open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...
Nuclear Mystery, Part IV: Dien Bien Phu
Why on Earth World the French Turn Down Three Tactical Nuclear Weapons?
open.substack.com
March 14, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Part IV of the Nuclear Mystery series is out, exploring why the French didn't use nuclear weapons to save the day when their troops were surrounded at Dien Bien Phu.
open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...
open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...
I was at the United Nations last week for the Third Meeting of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Surprisingly, Japan wasn't there. My piece in Chugoku Shimbon criticizing that choice (with translation). open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...
#nuclearweapons #TPNW
#nuclearweapons #TPNW
A "Practical and Realistic Approach"
Doubts about Japan's Approach to Nuclear Weapons
open.substack.com
March 9, 2025 at 1:10 PM
I was at the United Nations last week for the Third Meeting of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Surprisingly, Japan wasn't there. My piece in Chugoku Shimbon criticizing that choice (with translation). open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...
#nuclearweapons #TPNW
#nuclearweapons #TPNW
I was speaking about nuclear weapons at Southern Utah University last week. Some folks there were skeptical about eliminating nuclear weapons. But something the North Koreans have been doing provides new evidence for the debate about the utility of nuclear weapons. open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...
Kim Jong Un Supports My Argument
More evidence that the utility of nuclear weapons is open to doubt
open.substack.com
February 26, 2025 at 1:20 PM
I was speaking about nuclear weapons at Southern Utah University last week. Some folks there were skeptical about eliminating nuclear weapons. But something the North Koreans have been doing provides new evidence for the debate about the utility of nuclear weapons. open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...
Some thoughts inspired by President Trump suggesting we abolish FEMA.
Nuclear War is Local
Why Your City Council Should Vote on Nuclear Weapons Issues
open.substack.com
January 25, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Some thoughts inspired by President Trump suggesting we abolish FEMA.
Part two of my Nuclear Mystery series that explores the question "Why haven't nuclear weapons been used for nearly 80 years?" This one examines some of the practical difficulties around the peculiar non-use of nuclear weapons in the Korean War.
Nuclear Mystery: part II
Korea
open.substack.com
January 23, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Part two of my Nuclear Mystery series that explores the question "Why haven't nuclear weapons been used for nearly 80 years?" This one examines some of the practical difficulties around the peculiar non-use of nuclear weapons in the Korean War.
So why haven't nuclear weapons been used?
--For the better part of a century, no less.
An exploration of the practical utility of nuclear weapons and the surprising limitations on actually using them.
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/nuclear-my...
--For the better part of a century, no less.
An exploration of the practical utility of nuclear weapons and the surprising limitations on actually using them.
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/nuclear-my...
Nuclear Mystery, part I
Why haven't nuclear weapons been used?
wardhayeswilson.substack.com
January 7, 2025 at 3:03 PM
So why haven't nuclear weapons been used?
--For the better part of a century, no less.
An exploration of the practical utility of nuclear weapons and the surprising limitations on actually using them.
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/nuclear-my...
--For the better part of a century, no less.
An exploration of the practical utility of nuclear weapons and the surprising limitations on actually using them.
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/nuclear-my...
Some thoughts on the use today by the Russians of a ballistic missile to attack Ukraine.
open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...
open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...
Missiles, nukes, and Ukraine
What's all this about Russia firing an ICBM at Ukraine?
open.substack.com
November 21, 2024 at 11:13 PM
Some thoughts on the use today by the Russians of a ballistic missile to attack Ukraine.
open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...
open.substack.com/pub/wardhaye...
Thoughts on the approach Walz and Harris are using against Trump, and how that same approach might be used toward nuclear weapons.
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/donald-tru...
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/donald-tru...
Donald Trump and Nuclear Weapons
This is not about what you think
wardhayeswilson.substack.com
August 22, 2024 at 10:25 AM
Thoughts on the approach Walz and Harris are using against Trump, and how that same approach might be used toward nuclear weapons.
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/donald-tru...
wardhayeswilson.substack.com/p/donald-tru...
Pleased to see a report about the book launch I did at the UN from the UN's Office of Disarmament Affairs.
disarmament.unoda.org/update/unoda...
disarmament.unoda.org/update/unoda...
November 17, 2023 at 7:44 PM
Pleased to see a report about the book launch I did at the UN from the UN's Office of Disarmament Affairs.
disarmament.unoda.org/update/unoda...
disarmament.unoda.org/update/unoda...
Eliminating nuclear weapons is hippie-dippie/idealist stuff. No one takes it seriously. But listen to what this four-star Air Force general - who once commanded STRATCO - has to say:
“The most intelligent, comprehensive, and compelling argument ever advanced against nuclear weapons.” Lee Butler
“The most intelligent, comprehensive, and compelling argument ever advanced against nuclear weapons.” Lee Butler
October 24, 2023 at 2:59 PM
Eliminating nuclear weapons is hippie-dippie/idealist stuff. No one takes it seriously. But listen to what this four-star Air Force general - who once commanded STRATCO - has to say:
“The most intelligent, comprehensive, and compelling argument ever advanced against nuclear weapons.” Lee Butler
“The most intelligent, comprehensive, and compelling argument ever advanced against nuclear weapons.” Lee Butler
If you're in New York next Wednesday and you have UN credentials, you should come to the book launch of my new book. I will give what is, I think, the best presentation I've ever written on this subject. And tell your friends.
October 21, 2023 at 2:08 PM
If you're in New York next Wednesday and you have UN credentials, you should come to the book launch of my new book. I will give what is, I think, the best presentation I've ever written on this subject. And tell your friends.
Beatrice Fihn, the former Executive Director of ICAN (2014 - 2023) and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate said It Is Possible
“Provides the inspiration people need to eliminate these weapons”
You can buy the hardcover starting next Wednesday.
press.avenues.org/it-is-possib...
“Provides the inspiration people need to eliminate these weapons”
You can buy the hardcover starting next Wednesday.
press.avenues.org/it-is-possib...
October 21, 2023 at 1:58 PM
Beatrice Fihn, the former Executive Director of ICAN (2014 - 2023) and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate said It Is Possible
“Provides the inspiration people need to eliminate these weapons”
You can buy the hardcover starting next Wednesday.
press.avenues.org/it-is-possib...
“Provides the inspiration people need to eliminate these weapons”
You can buy the hardcover starting next Wednesday.
press.avenues.org/it-is-possib...
“Arguably the most important contribution to the debate over the efficacy/fallacy of nuclear deterrence ever written.”
Martin Sherwin — Pulitzer Prize winning historian of nuclear weapons (1937 - 2021).
Martin Sherwin — Pulitzer Prize winning historian of nuclear weapons (1937 - 2021).
October 18, 2023 at 4:17 PM
“Arguably the most important contribution to the debate over the efficacy/fallacy of nuclear deterrence ever written.”
Martin Sherwin — Pulitzer Prize winning historian of nuclear weapons (1937 - 2021).
Martin Sherwin — Pulitzer Prize winning historian of nuclear weapons (1937 - 2021).
Praise from people you respect means a great deal. From Barry Blechman, co-founder of the Stimson Center:
"Ward Hayes Wilson is the most innovative thinker about nuclear weapons anywhere. It Is Possible is truly a masterpiece. Its comprehensive analysis shows not only the uselessness of . . .
"Ward Hayes Wilson is the most innovative thinker about nuclear weapons anywhere. It Is Possible is truly a masterpiece. Its comprehensive analysis shows not only the uselessness of . . .
October 17, 2023 at 2:15 PM
Praise from people you respect means a great deal. From Barry Blechman, co-founder of the Stimson Center:
"Ward Hayes Wilson is the most innovative thinker about nuclear weapons anywhere. It Is Possible is truly a masterpiece. Its comprehensive analysis shows not only the uselessness of . . .
"Ward Hayes Wilson is the most innovative thinker about nuclear weapons anywhere. It Is Possible is truly a masterpiece. Its comprehensive analysis shows not only the uselessness of . . .
I only met the Mayor of Nagasaki once, but when I asked him to write something about my new book, he said this: "Ward Hayes Wilson’s book assures us that our vision of a 'world without nuclear weapons' is not only possible but the only rational way . . . 1/2
October 16, 2023 at 5:32 PM
I only met the Mayor of Nagasaki once, but when I asked him to write something about my new book, he said this: "Ward Hayes Wilson’s book assures us that our vision of a 'world without nuclear weapons' is not only possible but the only rational way . . . 1/2
When Air Force generals tell you that nuclear weapons may not be the best thing. You should listen.
My friend Bernard Norlain used to command all of France's Air Force (minus the nuclear part). He had something to say about my new book: It Is Possible: A Future Without Nuclear Weapons.
My friend Bernard Norlain used to command all of France's Air Force (minus the nuclear part). He had something to say about my new book: It Is Possible: A Future Without Nuclear Weapons.
October 14, 2023 at 10:48 AM
When Air Force generals tell you that nuclear weapons may not be the best thing. You should listen.
My friend Bernard Norlain used to command all of France's Air Force (minus the nuclear part). He had something to say about my new book: It Is Possible: A Future Without Nuclear Weapons.
My friend Bernard Norlain used to command all of France's Air Force (minus the nuclear part). He had something to say about my new book: It Is Possible: A Future Without Nuclear Weapons.
"In this stunning, breakthrough work, Ward Hayes Wilson brilliantly dismantles the false claims about nuclear weapons that have kept a nuclear sword of Damocles over our heads for so long.”
Richard Rhodes — Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of nuclear weapons.
press.avenues.org/it-is-possib...
Richard Rhodes — Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of nuclear weapons.
press.avenues.org/it-is-possib...
It Is Possible: A Future Without Nuclear Weapons by Ward Hayes Wilson
It Is Possible lays out a practical, pragmatic pathway to eliminating nuclear weapons. Each accessibly written chapter addresses a key issue in the nuclear weapons debate, from the political failures ...
press.avenues.org
October 13, 2023 at 1:44 PM
"In this stunning, breakthrough work, Ward Hayes Wilson brilliantly dismantles the false claims about nuclear weapons that have kept a nuclear sword of Damocles over our heads for so long.”
Richard Rhodes — Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of nuclear weapons.
press.avenues.org/it-is-possib...
Richard Rhodes — Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of nuclear weapons.
press.avenues.org/it-is-possib...
Excellent advice from Ben Wittes on "How Not to Respond to a Terrorist Attack." Sober, honest, and restrained, his response is a model we can all learn from.
www.dogshirtdaily.com?utm_source=n...
www.dogshirtdaily.com?utm_source=n...
October 11, 2023 at 1:20 PM
Excellent advice from Ben Wittes on "How Not to Respond to a Terrorist Attack." Sober, honest, and restrained, his response is a model we can all learn from.
www.dogshirtdaily.com?utm_source=n...
www.dogshirtdaily.com?utm_source=n...
A new, more effective way of talking about nuclear weapons disarmament. Based on ideas from my forthcoming book: It Is Possible: A Future Without Nuclear Weapons
thebulletin.org/2023/09/yes-...
thebulletin.org/2023/09/yes-...
Yes, nuclear weapons are immoral. They’re also, practically speaking, useless.
The key to eliminating nuclear weapons is an argument that starts with practical considerations. Make a case that nuclear weapons could reasonably, realistically be eliminated, and the moral argument ...
thebulletin.org
September 19, 2023 at 2:52 PM
A new, more effective way of talking about nuclear weapons disarmament. Based on ideas from my forthcoming book: It Is Possible: A Future Without Nuclear Weapons
thebulletin.org/2023/09/yes-...
thebulletin.org/2023/09/yes-...
Reposted by Ward Hayes Wilson
The nuclear Twitter community is now in diaspora and not posting much anywhere.
Totally empathize. My academic community exists almost entirely outside my institution, and Twitter was a huge part of growing it. Sucks.
September 2, 2023 at 7:34 PM
The nuclear Twitter community is now in diaspora and not posting much anywhere.