Toward a Universal Framework of Nuclear Restraint

Abstract

Recently, there has been a perceptible relaxation in global and regional tensions all over the world. The most noticeable sign of this “thaw” has been in the relations between the two superpowers. The leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union have publicly shared the vision of a nuclear-weapon-free globe, and the first tentative steps in the direction of nuclear disarmament have been taken. The general atmosphere is thus more conducive than ever before to evolving a new framework of nuclear restraint that ought to be nondiscriminatory in principle, universal in application, and effective in implementation. The NPT, which purportedly has nuclear restraint as its objective, has not proven itself equal to this task in its twenty-year history. The situation will be no different in 1995, when the treaty’s renewal is to be considered. Disillusionment with the NPT is very real and based upon its real limitations in both structure and implementation.