Deep Cuts Issue Brief #12
"Incorporating Missile Defense in Strategic Arms Control"
For some six decades, strategic ballistic missile defenses have played an integral role in the evolution of the strategic relationship between Moscow and Washington. Throughout this time, advocates of such defenses have depicted a future in which these weapons would reduce the risks of nuclear destruction. Yet, following U.S. withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in 2002, the absence of constraints on these systems has made it more difficult to achieve stabilizing reductions in strategic offensive forces. With the world now on the cusp of a new nuclear arms race, these difficulties will increase. It is therefore imperative that strategic missile defense limits be incorporated directly into the structure of strategic arms control – for example, by developing an aggregate ceiling on offensive and defensive weapons. Read the latest Deep Cuts Project Issue Brief by Commissioner Greg Thielmann here.
Deep Cuts Issue Brief #13
"Russian-U.S. Strategic Stability Talks: Where they are and where they should go"
Over the decades, Moscow and Washington have held multiple rounds of consultations, dialogues, and negotiations on nuclear arms control and strategic stability. The current round of talks is different from the past, however, because of the dismantlement of the existing arms control architecture. Russia and the United States will soon find themselves in a situation where almost no area of military competition is regulated. This situation is a cause for concern because of the increased risks of crisis escalation and an unconstrained arms race. At the same time, the demise of traditional arms control opens the door to a broad spectrum of potential new arms control negotiations that are without precedent in the post-Cold War era. Should they muster the political will to do so, Russia and the United States now have greater freedom to restructure the arms control architecture, taking into account their interests and those of their allies as well as new technological developments. Read the latest Deep Cuts Issue Brief by Commissioners Andrey Baklitskiy, Oliver Meier, and Sarah Bidgood here.
Deep Cuts Issue Brief #14
"New START: Extension under what Circumstances?"
The New Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (New START) is at risk of expiring on February 5, 2021. At the same time, there has been no substantial progress in negotiations on a follow-on nuclear arms control agreement. The Trump administration has offered a short-term extension of New START – should Russia agree to a freeze on all U.S. and Russian nuclear warhead stockpiles including non-strategic warheads and to be monitored by unspecified verification measures. This could pave the way to preserving New START, along with an agreement on a politically binding framework for a future agreement. But time appears too short to resolve all questions about the definition and verification of such an arrangement. With this bleak picture, what is the way forward to preserve strategic stability? What realistic scenarios and options exist to prevent a new arms race between Russia and the United States? Read the answers to these questions in the latest Deep Cuts Issue Brief by Commissioners Anatoli S. Diakov, Götz Neuneck, and Lynn Rusten here.
You can find more information about the project Challenges to Deep Cuts here.