Author Warns 'Second Nuclear Age' Is Here

Since the end of the Cold War, many Americans have largely dismissed the threat of nuclear war. But Yale Political Science professor and national security strategist Paul Bracken argues that the U.S. now operates under a misguided sense of calm.

In his new book, The Second Nuclear Age, Bracken argues that the second age of nuclear politics has arrived and the United States must face a new nuclear reality. As regional conflicts in the Middle East, South Asia and East Asia grow more tense, concerns about nuclear weapons have reemerged and are playing a vital role in geo-politics today. And despite the U.S. push for non-proliferation and nuclear draw down, at least 8 countries have nuclear arsenals, and all but the United States are modernizing them.

NPR's Neal Conan talks with Bracken about the new rules of politics and nuclear weapons in the 21st century.

Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.