Deconstructing the Struggle Against Nuclearism

In such a complex and uncertain world, it may help to think like a Hindu, and accept contradiction as more in keeping with social and political reality than is finding a right answer to complex policy puzzles. What is almost impossible for those trained within Western frames of reference is to grasp that there are diverse perspectives of understanding that may result in seemingly contradictory recommendations despite shared values and goals. Civilizational perspectives and personal experience inevitably color what we feel, think, and do, and so being likeminded when it comes abolishing nuclear weapons is often coupled with somewhat divergent views on what to advocate when it comes to tactics and priorities. In this spirit, this paper tries to depict a set of reasons why the goal of nuclear disarmament will never be reached so long as arms control and nonproliferation of nuclear weaponry are seen as the pillars of global stability in the nuclear age.

THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION AND ARMS CONTROL

Did the Biden administration pick up at least some of the pieces of the broken liberal international order caused in some part by his predecessor Trump? Has he been acting according to his and his party’s promises during the presidential-elections campaign or has he stood by his predecessor’s decisions? And especially how much was done or “repaired” in the realm of arms control? These are the questions authors will try to answer in this paper. They will draw their conclusion by analyzing theoretical assumptions that lie behind the Trump’s and Biden’s approach toward the international institutions, including arms control, historical analysis of Trump’s legacy regarding international institutions, content analysis of Biden’s and Democratic Party’s promises and their comparison with the Republican attitudes. In assessing how much was done in the first year of Biden’s mandate in the realm of arms control, authors conclude that the results are mixed – in some cases Biden followed Trump’s decisions and in some other he completely changed the approach.

Russian, US, Chinese hypersonic arms lack treaty curbs

Significance Russia and China have several hypersonic weapons in service or near readiness. This class of weapon is raising concerns in the conventional and strategic realms, where security tensions are already high. A Chinese weapon tested this year created new concerns by reportedly spending time in near-earth orbit. Impacts Governments will review the survivability of their nuclear forces as a hypersonic arms race develops. The reported Chinese test of an orbital system will increased US call to bring hypersonic technologies into arms control discussions. Chinese advances will spur Washington and some of its regional allies to develop defensive and offensive options to counter such systems.