The US has accused China of carrying out a 'yield-producing' nuclear test in 2020 – but the global test-ban monitor found no supporting evidence. Syeda Saba Batool argues that the dispute matters anyway: such allegations can be used to pressure China into talks – and to normalise a possible US return to testing
Deterrence is back — but not as we knew it. Once a strategy of nuclear restraint, the term is now being stretched to justify aggressive military actions, at home and abroad. Konstantin Schendzielorz argues that, as meanings shift, so do red lines. The nuclear umbrella may be turning into a very real sword
Russia continues to rely on its sub-strategic nuclear arsenal, and NATO is therefore hoping in vain for sub-strategic nuclear arms control negotiations. For three decades, says Wannes Verstraete, the Alliance has merely been 'waiting for Godot'
The global nuclear order is more crowded than ever, with new actors, rules, and arenas constantly emerging. Carmen Wunderlich and Martin Senn argue, however, that this is less chaos than a continuous process of ordering and disordering. They show how nuclear politics are made, unmade, and remade in everyday practice
Next year’s UN study on Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones offers non-nuclear states a rare chance to reshape the global disarmament agenda. Jorge Alberto López Lechuga says they must use this moment to strengthen, connect, and expand NWFZs — turning regional commitments into a coherent global force against nuclear proliferation
African states have long championed nuclear disarmament, from resisting colonial-era testing to advancing the Pelindaba and Prohibition Treaties. Yet frustration is growing over the slow pace of progress and exclusion from global forums. Robin Möser argues that African experiences offer lessons to revitalise inclusivity ahead of the 2026 Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Review Conference
A nuclear war between great powers would mean the collapse of human civilisation – and could lead to the irreversible breakdown of global society. Rhys Lewis-Jones argues that humanity faces an existential nuclear threat that demands deliberate and urgent action
China and Russia march in unison on the global stage. Behind the choreography, however, lies a partnership of limits and unequal leverage. United in criticising Washington and trading weapons, the two countries diverge sharply on nuclear doctrine. Mariam Mumladze shows how shared opposition to the West conceals deeper strategic differences, exposing the limits of their so-called 'no-limits' partnership
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