ABSTRACT
The nuclear arms race is underlining the fundamental imbalance of nuclear arms control. The arms race, together with the six problem countries (Israel, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, India, and Pakistan) and the lack of agreement on trade, threatens to undermine the two essential pillars of the nonproliferation regime—the nonproliferation treaty (NPT) and International Atomic Energy Agency. The risks of a descent into a state of anarchy, akin to that prevailing in the conventional arms trade, should not be exaggerated. There is a general awareness of the dangers to political and economic relations of reckless nuclear trading. The key to breaking the deadlock that appears to afflict the nonproliferation regime lies in a renewed commitment—and a real commitment—by the nuclear powers and their allies to nuclear arms control. It presents one of the few opportunities of gaining a multilateral commitment from the present non-NPT countries to desist from arming themselves with nuclear weapons.
