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Arms Control: Down the Staircase Leading Up?

51
Rubric: Security Problems in Contemporary World
DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2025-69-12-18-28
EDN: YKQKAL
S. Oznobishchev, ORCID 0000-0002-1623-8529, s.sko96@yandex.ru
Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO), 23, Profsoyuznaya Str., Moscow, 117997, Russian Federation;
Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University), The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, 76, Vernadskogo Prosp., Moscow, 119454, Russian Federation.
 

Received 30.06.2025. Revised 21.07.2025. Accepted 17.09.2025.

Abstract. The growing potential for conflict, the collapse of the collective security system in Europe, and the collapse of the system of arms limitation and reduction have become characteristic features of the modern system of international relations. What happened, to a large extent, was a consequence of the deterioration of relations between Russia and Western countries. The crisis has affected almost all the most important areas of arms control, both global and regional. For example, the issue of nuclear non-proliferation is by no means off the agenda, but the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conferences are ending in vain; back in 2002, the United States withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) Treaty, but the next in line in Washington is a plan to create another global missile defense system called the “Golden Dome”; in the context of combat actions in Europe, it is impossible even to approach the problem of further reduction of conventional armed forces on the continent. Noticeable destructive contribution to arms control was made in the first term of Trump’s presidency. In May 2018, the withdrawal of the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program (JCPOA) was announced; in August 2019, Washington ceased its participation in the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty); in November 2020, the procedure for the U.S. withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty was completed. Today, only the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START‑3), partially implemented by the parties, remains, participation in which Russia partly “curtailed”.

Keywords: collapse of the security system, reduction and limitation of armaments, legally binding treaties, restoration of arms control


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For citation:
Oznobishchev S. Arms Control: Down the Staircase Leading Up?. World Eñonomy and International Relations, 2025, vol. 69, no. 12, pp. 18–28. https://doi.org/10.20542/0131-2227-2025-69-12-18-28 EDN: YKQKAL

Contents World Eñonomy and International Relations. 2025, vol. 69, no. 12

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