Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 02/2009

Abolishing Nuclear Weapons: Why the United States Should Lead

George Perkovich

October 2008

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Abstract

Efforts to re-invigorate a movement to abolish nuclear weapons are rising on the international agenda, made clear in statements by the U.S. presidential candidates, British and Indian leaders, and a campaign led by former U.S. officials. For states without weapons, talk of nuclear disarmament is embraced as a welcome change, but viewed with skepticism. The next U.S. president should emphasize the goal of a world without nuclear weapons, explains George Perkovich in a new report.

Perkovich outlines four security areas where the long-term project of abolishing nuclear weapons would best serve U.S. interests: preventing proliferation, preventing nuclear terrorism, reducing toward zero the threat of nuclear annihilation, and fostering new optimism for U.S. global leadership.

Resource link: Abolishing Nuclear Weapons: Why the United States Should Lead [PDF] - 759K