Carnegie Moscow Center
After two decades of stagnation, Russia and the United States have pledged their support for reductions in nuclear warheads. But the vision of mutual disarmament remains plagued by doubts on all sides.
Even as overall relations between the United States and Russia have improved in recent years, progress has also been made on arms control, a vital aspect of Russian-American relations.
The 2011 conference focused on new actors and new agendas, reflecting the need to develop cooperative responses to challenges being posed by changing technology, distributions of political power, interest in nuclear energy, and security conditions in key regions.
Nuclear disarmament faded from media attention after the New START agreement was signed, but it remains a challenge for the world.
The Russian Duma’s likely ratification of New START Agreement this month will open a new debate over the strategic arms threats and emergent arms control opportunities that might be usefully added to the President's current arms control agenda.
Based on the Obama Administration’s April Nuclear Posture Review, conventional weapons are poised to gain a more prominent role in the U.S. deterrence posture, with implications for extended deterrence, arms control, and U.S. strategic stability.
Given the current status of nuclear security and nonproliferation in South Asia, nuclear powers like China, Russia, and the United States should look for a path of engagement for India and Pakistan to be brought into the global nonproliferation regime.
In November, NATO will meet in Lisbon to craft a new Strategic Concept and address the future of its nuclear posture, which has caused controversial debate in recent months both within the Alliance and externally.
Mutual understanding and cooperation between the United States, China, and other countries is essential for overcoming the challenges facing the nonproliferation regime.
While it is generally understood that space technology has both civilian and military applications, the scientific and technical parameters of such technology have serious global policy implications.