The origins of US-Soviet non-proliferation cooperation

• Published in: Adelphi series 2016-11, Vol.56 (464-465), p.23-54
• Main Author: Potter, William C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1944-5571; 1944-558X
• DOI: 10.1080/19445571.2016.1494247

Relations between the United States and Russia today are beset by rivalry in almost every sphere, and mutual suspicion reigns. Both parties have shunned arms-reduction talks and are pursuing nuclear modernisation programmes; a new nuclear arms race looms. Yet the two leading nuclear powers have shared interests in checking the proliferation of nuclear weapons and related technologies, as did the US and Soviet Union during the Cold War. This Adelphi book reaches back to episodes of US-Soviet cooperation on nuclear non-proliferation to identify factors that permitted successful joint action, even in circumstances of profound geopolitical rivalry. It includes essays on the collaboration that prevented South Africa from conducting a nuclear-weapon test in 1977; Cold-War-era discussions on peaceful nuclear explosions and the developments that led from the Limited Test-Ban Treaty to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT); negotiating and sustaining the NPT; the establishment of the London Club and nuclear-export controls; bolstering IAEA safeguards; and negotiating the draft Radiological Weapons Convention. From these case studies, the editors identify seven lessons for contemporary policymakers and three immediate challenges that can only be overcome through bilateral cooperation.