ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at what is meant by strategic stability in the current state of international relations, the role of nuclear weapons in a wider set of deterrence measures and the stability of various nuclear deterrence concepts and doctrines going forward. In that context, the chapter discusses the prospects for nuclear weapons reduction and the ways in which international relations could affect and would themselves be altered by increased emphasis on the reduction of nuclear weapons. The problems associated with nuclear weapons are treated as a wicked problem – one set in a complex adaptive system. There is no one lever that can solve the problem of nuclear weapons but rather a range of mitigating approaches that may nudge the international system in the direction of non-proliferation and disarmament while at the same time increasing confidence and stability. These factors are connected and constantly changing, so the steps to address them also need to change and adapt. New and current international efforts are seeking measures that will lead to positive trends rather than the negative pathways along which nuclear weapons possessors appear to have headed.
