In this incisive, masterfully argued new book, award-winning social theorist Elaine Scarry demonstrates that the power of one leader to obliterate millions of people with a nuclear weapon--a possibility that remains very real even in the wake of the Cold War--deeply violates our constitutional rights, undermines the social contract, and is fundamentally at odds with the deliberative principles of democracy. According to the Constitution, the decision to go to war requires rigorous testing by both Congress and the citizenry; when a leader can single-handedly decide to deploy a nuclear weapon, we live in a state of "thermonuclear monarchy," not democracy. The danger of nuclear weapons comes from potential accidents or acquisition by terrorists, hackers, or rogue countries. But the gravest danger comes from the mistaken idea that there exists some case compatible with legitimate governance.

Part 1. The United States Constitution Outlaws Nuclear Weapons -- A Prelude and Summary : Chapter 1. The Constitution Requires a Congressional Declaration of War ; Chapter 2. Nuclear Weapons Violate the Second Amendment Requirement for Authorization by the Citizenry ; Part 2. The Social Contract Outlaws Nuclear Weapons -- A Prelude and Summary ; Chapter 3. The Social Contract Is a Covenant for Peace ; Chapter 4. The Social Contract and the Double Brakes on Injury ; Part 3. Everyday Consent and Emergency Deliberation -- A Prelude and Summary ; Chapter 5. Consent and the Body ; Chapter 6. Thinking in an Emergency.