Nuclear weapons are, without a doubt, the most indiscriminate and inhumane weapons ever conceived. Even a small-scale nuclear conflagration could have devastating global repercussions, which explains the extraordinary efforts to rein them in. They are also technically illegal: The recently concluded Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is the first multilateral, legally binding agreement to ban their development, production, testing, stockpiling, use, and threat of use. Despite the treaty being quietly adopted in 2020 and entering into force this year, it is not universally supported. None of the world’s nine nuclear powers have signed or ratified the agreement. In the world of nuclear arms control, it turns out this is par for the course. Those who have such arms like to keep them. The only country that ever voluntarily gave up its nuclear weapons is Ukraine, which inherited them during the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Although only a few countries actually possess nuclear warheads, most states are involved in international measures to restrain their design, development, and deployment. The most important of these efforts is the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Negotiated between 1965 and 1968 and in force since 1970, the NPT was established to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and advance the goals of complete nuclear disarmament. It was extended indefinitely in 1995 and, despite the defection of North Korea in 2003, continues to hold up.
Yet most efforts to contain the spread and use of strategic nuclear weapons have been patchy. Despite a slew of nuclear arms control agreements and nuclear weapon-free zones, the international community has yet to rid itself of nuclear threat. Today, roughly 90 percent of the world’s estimated total arsenal of 13,500 nuclear warheads are held by the United States (5,800 warheads) and Russia (6,375 warheads). The rest are distributed between other NPT signatories, such as China (320 warheads), France (290 warheads), and Britain (215 warheads), as well as non-signatories like Pakistan (160 warheads), India (150 warheads), Israel (90 warheads), and North Korea (30 to 40 warheads). Roughly 9,500 of these are believed to be in active military service, including on bombers and submarines, with the rest supposedly awaiting dismantlement.
