The Relationship between Nuclear Disarmament and Nuclear Nonproliferation

The end of the Cold War brought significant progress both in terms of disarmament and nonproliferation. Nuclear arsenals were significantly reduced; Russia became the sole heir of Soviet nuclear weapons; Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) membership increased considerably; and by the time the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference was convened, a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was in sight. Nuclear weapons are usually regarded as a source of strength. The military and political significance that nuclear weapon states attribute to their arsenals—set forth in their national military doctrines and in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization&s;s military strategy—underlines the point. The role of nuclear weapons for regime survival and national survival, i.e., for countries under dire threat and in warlike conditions, is most difficult to abolish. Much the same applies in South Asia, where there are difficult and delicate conflicts and asymmetries as well.