Lessons from the End of the Cold War The arms control framework 72 Common security 73 The power of positive reciprocity 75 Nuclear disarmament and enhanced conventional security 77 Conclusion 80

The way in which the Cold War ended illustrates the essential relationship between improved political relations and disarmament. It shows that conciliatory gestures can help to improve political relations and generate a pattern of positive

reciprocity leading to sharp reductions in weapons levels and enhanced overall security. It confirms the value of arms-control

negotiations as a framework for improving political relations

and reducing arsenals. This lesson came late to the leading nuclear weapons states, which became seriously involved in arms control only when the arms race began to spiral out of

control and after the terrifying brush with catastrophe during

the Cuban missile crisis. Disaster was averted more by luck

than design. The nuclear age has been rife with other accidents

and close calls.1