UN General Assembly
1973

51. Let me enumerate a few of the fundamental problems which have characterized the changing world since the Second World War. First, I wish to dwell upon the fact that the development and control of nuclear energy has become a prime determinant of international politics. The development of nuclear weapons, which might be said to be the baleful offspring of the Second World War, has given rise to a "balance of terror" in the post-war international community, thus making it possible to avoid the outbreak of total warfare. This is one notable feature of the post-war world. It is a new development, unprecedented in modern history, that large-scale, total warfare has not broken out among the major Powers of the world for nearly 30 years.