Policy Briefs and Reports Books Journals

Cooperative Security, Arms Control and Disarmament Policy Brief  No.251

Policy Brief No.251: Nuclear Arms Control in Crisis: Time for Asia–Pacific to Step Up

John Carlson and John Tilemann

October 06, 2025

Image: Lightspring / shutterstock.com

This policy brief documents the framework of agreements and arms control arrangements which have hitherto restrained actions of the nuclear powers. Since the end of the Cold War, political leaders and the public have become complacent about the danger of nuclear war. While the taboo against the use of nuclear weapons has held, the nuclear-armed states have ignored their moral and legal obligation to pursue nuclear arms reductions and disarmament. The policy brief concludes by suggesting actions that could be taken to revitalize and extend nuclear arms controls globally and regionally.