Taken from Wikipedia:
Nuclear peace is a theory of international relations that argues that under some circumstances nuclear weapons can induce stability and decrease the chances of crisis escalation.
Is this true that nuclear weapons contributed to preservation of peace more than anti-war movement? I've found 2 studies that came to such conclusion but don't know if they're reliable.
Kenneth Waltz, political scientist from University of California and Columbia University, in monograph The Spread of Nuclear Weapons said:
Nuclear weapons have been the second force working for peace in the post-war world. They make the cost of war seem frighteningly high and thus discourage states from starting any wars that might lead to the use of such weapons. Nuclear weapons have helped maintain peace between the great powers and have not led their few other possessors into military adventures.
Akop Nazaretyan, cultural anthropologist and expert in collective behavior from Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, proposed law of techno-humanitarian balance that says:
The higher the power of production and war technologies, the more advanced behavior regulation means are required to enable the self-preservation of a society.