Publication

Providing information about nuclear arsenals would be an important confidence-building measure that would help advance the cause of nuclear disarmament. Transparency would also strengthen global and regional stability and create conditions for bringing all nuclear-weapon states in the disarmament process. As of 2012, the only nuclear-weapon states that have an obligation to provide information about their nuclear forces are Russia and the US, which exchange data as part of the New START agreement. As discussed in this paper, the legal and institutional framework created by the New START Treaty could provide a practical template for a future regime of comprehensive transparency of nuclear arsenals.