Future of nuclear weapons and the non-proliferation treaty. Research report, August 1991-April 1992

Technical Report · Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:6586708

Boren, P

For the last forty-six years the world lived in fear of nuclear weapons. Their use was tightly held among the two superpowers and up to six lesser powers. The Cold War is now over and the arsenal of nuclear weapons will soon seem unnecessary and obsolete in light of the reduced threat and the advent of sophisticated conventional munitions. The United States is considering ways to reduce the world's nuclear arsenal, and the prohibit the spread of nuclear weapons. This essay serves as a background paper for a nuclear nonproliferation simulation by the National Defense University's Institute for National Security Studies and the War Gaming and Simulation Center. It will argue that over the next twenty years our nuclear weapons will steadily decline in importance and should be reduced; traditional arms control agreements are largely outdated but the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treat (NPT) offers the best mechanism for collectively reducing the number of nuclear weapons; and proposes amendments to the NPT to elevate it to an effective instrument for controlling nuclear weapons.

• Research Organization: Industrial Coll. of the Armed Forces, Washington, DC (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6586708
• Report Number(s): AD-A-262248/8/XAB; NDU-ICAF-92-S8
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY
NEGOTIATION
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
ARMS CONTROL
RISK ASSESSMENT
AMENDMENTS
BILATERAL AGREEMENTS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
GAME THEORY
NATIONAL DEFENSE
NATIONAL SECURITY
PROLIFERATION
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
US DOD
USA
AGREEMENTS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
MATHEMATICS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
SECURITY
SIMULATION
STATISTICS
TREATIES
US ORGANIZATIONS
WEAPONS
350100* - Arms Control- Policy
Negotiations
& Legislation- (1987-)