The New START: Why Is It Overshadowed By The Global Nuclear Order? |
In the evolving global nuclear order, all nuclear-weapon states are not only increasing but also modernising their nuclear forces, bolstered by the integration of sophisticated emerging and disruptive technologies across the conventional and nuclear force domains. All these strategic imperatives have far-reaching policy implications for the strategic rivals competing with each other. The current evolving global order is further moving away from the perceived nuclear disarmament as pledged by the established nuclear-weapon states at the formation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968 and its enforcement in 1970.
Despite the 1995 extension of the NPT, the aspiration for nuclear disarmament is fading, even though the world community has successfully adopted the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), with 95 signatories as of early 2026. It is unclear how effective the TPNW is in convincing the major powers to pursue nuclear disarmament. To date, there is no evidence that nuclear disarmament is underway. Also, arms control processes between the US and Russia are rapidly dwindling. That said, the characteristics of geopolitics and geostrategy remain predominant among the competing rivals, helping us understand why these characteristics may prevail over everything related to nuclear arms control and disarmament pledged by the member states.
The question is: why has the New START Treaty, the only arms........