Speaker
Description
The ongoing trajectory of the nuclear arms race threatens the CTBT: resurgence of global competition between great powers; the existing nature of regional competition compounded by security dilemmas; the breakdown of existing arms control treaties between erstwhile Cold-War powers; and the pursuit of disruptive technologies, such as hypersonic missiles, and artificial intelligence enabled conventional and nuclear capable delivery systems, all pose substantive challenges. Erosion of different arms control treaties and confidence building measures, such as the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty; Open Skies Treaty; lack of consensus on New START, withdrawn or lingering pipedreams, such as the Strategic Restraint Regime between Pakistan and India also threaten CTBT’s efficacy. Rising tensions between nuclear armed states may cause triggers which undo voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing and cause resumption of nuclear tests for “deterrence”. These may inflict a blow on existing or proposed arrangements between states to reach consensus on nuclear arms control arrangements, including the CTBT or voluntary testing moratorium. This paper examines the relationship between breakdowns of bilateral nuclear arms control treaties, consensus, multilateral arrangements and confidence building measures between nuclear armed states, such as US, Russia, China, India, Pakistan and others (JCPOA, Iran and North Korea) as well as the resurgence of disruptive arms race that threaten CTBTs norms and global peace.
Promotional text
This abstract will seek to undertake an explanatory analysis of different factors: eroding arms-control treaties; threat of arms-race; and rising tensions between nuclear armed states, that threaten CTBT, associated norms, and especially, voluntary nuclear testing.
