QuoteProject
Countries that perceive themselves to be vulnerable can be expected to try to redress that vulnerability - and in some cases, they will pursue clandestine weapons programs.
Mohamed Elbaradei
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Countries feeling vulnerable may resort to secretive measures to enhance their security, including weapons development.

This quote by Mohamed Elbaradei highlights the psychological impact of perceived vulnerability on nations. When countries believe they are at risk, they may take extreme measures to secure themselves, sometimes leading to clandestine activities such as the development of weapons programs, which can further destabilize global peace and security.

Themes

VulnerabilityWeaponsSecurityNationsPsychology

In practice

Example use cases

During a conference on international relations, this quote can be used to discuss the strategies nations adopt in response to perceived threats.

More from Mohamed Elbaradei

It would be, in fact, very ominous if Iraq were to be able to get weapon-usable material, hydro-plutonium or highly enriched uranium from abroad.
Mohamed ElbaradeiRead
Egypt needs to catch up with the rest of the world. We need to be free, democratic, and - society where people have the right to live in freedom and dignity.
Mohamed ElbaradeiRead
I couldn't have imagined that I would live long enough to see Egypt emancipated from decades of repression.
Mohamed ElbaradeiRead
Psychology is as important as substance. If you treat people with respect, they will go out of their way to accommodate you. If you treat them in a patronizing way, they will go out of their way to make your life difficult.
Mohamed ElbaradeiRead
The gravest threat faced by the world is of an extremist group getting hold of nuclear weapons or materials.
Mohamed ElbaradeiRead
Challenging the integrity of the non-proliferation regime is a matter which can affect international peace and security.
Mohamed ElbaradeiRead

Similar quotes

Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence. In other words, it is war minus the shooting.
George OrwellRead
I have never understood why people who can swallow the enormous improbability of a personal God boggle at a personal Devil.
Graham GreeneRead
The yearning to know what cannot be known, to comprehend the incomprehensible, to touch and taste the unapproachable, arises from the image of God in the nature of man. Deep calleth unto deep, and though polluted and landlocked by the mighty disaster theologians call the Fall, the soul senses its origin and longs to return to its source.
Aiden Wilson TozerRead
There are a few dogmas and double standards and really regrettable exports from philosophy that have confounded the thinking of scientists on the subject of morality.
Sam HarrisRead
Mainstream dictionary definitions reduce racism to racial prejudice and the personal actions that result. But this definition does little to explain how racial hierarchies are consistently reproduced.
Robin DiangeloRead
How much can a crown be worth, when a crow can dine upon a king?
George R. R. MartinRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.