AbstractNuclear arms control is high on the international agenda again. With START expired, the US and Russia have been taking more time than envisaged to negotiate a START follow-on treaty. The agreed further reductions are far from impressive. As regards future nuclear arms reductions, much will depend on the political-strategic climate between the US and Russia as well as on the regional (NATO) and global (nuclear non-proliferation) levels. Instead of fixating on the end-goal of a nuclear weapons free world, international attention should focus on the small but concrete legal steps towards meaningful nuclear arms reductions. The new START should be only the beginning.
