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When a nation threatens to use nuclear weapons, the world takes notice. It’s a defining moment that invokes the darkest chapter of human history. Explicit nuclear threats have been the default mode of international behavior for decades, because they are the essence of deterrence—the idea that if you attack us, we will destroy your society or your most vital military assets.

In the 1950s, as warheads were developed for aircraft bombs and then for strategic ballistic missiles, Western game theorists realized that a full-scale nuclear exchange could wipe out cities and towns and kill large numbers of civilians. This would mean that neither the United States nor Soviet Union/Russia could emerge a pyrrhic victor in such a conflict. That is why they developed a doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD).

As a result, nuclear weapons have been largely kept out of the hands of hostile states, but today the world’s superpowers maintain about 12,000 warheads. Nuclear weapons have the power to kill billions of people, both directly and indirectly through effects such as famine or global warming.

The first sign of a nuclear explosion is an intense, blinding flash that can be seen from miles away. A few seconds later, a boom echoes through the sky. Then a mushroom cloud forms—sometimes it’s green, sometimes gray.

The threat of nuclear weapons has resurfaced with the tensions between North Korea and the United States, and the false alarm in Hawaii. New polling from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and Carnegie Corporation of New York finds that Americans are split on how they feel about nuclear weapons.

Peacekeeping missions are lightly armed international forces tasked with monitoring or implementing the terms of ceasefires, withdrawals and other conditions in conflict zones. They support governments in their primary responsibility to protect civilians, and they can also help defuse tensions and create the environment for a political settlement.

Despite the high number of deaths, peacekeeping has been relatively successful and is often credited with helping countries emerge from conflict. UN peacekeeping operations can only be authorized if the warring parties agree to their deployment. In the absence of such consent, however, peacekeeping’s effectiveness is limited. When a government, as in the case of Syria, refuses to cooperate, the United Nations is not able to intervene and prevent further violence.

Since 1948, more than 2 million women and men from 124 countries have served in 71 peacekeeping operations. They have been deployed in a wide variety of places, from the mountains of Abyei to the lakes of Kenya and Uganda, and can fit into stadiums in the size of Hasselt (Belgium), Noisy-le Grand (France) or Esbjerg (Denmark).

New theories and concepts emerged around the turn of the millennium, making peacekeeping more closely linked with ideas of liberal peace, democracy and development. In a context where the relationship between the peacekeepers and the people they are protecting is crucial to success, this shift is a necessity.