ABSTRACT
Introduction The turn of the political calendar from 2008 to 2009 creates a behavior space for the improvement of U.S.–Russian political relations and, therefore, for renewed progress in strategic nuclear arms control. In this chapter, I consider the relevant policy background for U.S.–Russian nuclear arms reductions and their potential significance, not only for Washington and Moscow, but also for the larger canvas of nuclear nonproliferation. In addition, I examine the likely stability of alternative Russian-American arms agreements and, consistent with those, a constrained model of nuclear proliferation.
