ABSTRACT
Proposals for a Nordic nuclear weapon-free zone must contend with one troubling fact: the northern seas increasingly have become the site of military competition between the great powers. The current military context for nuclear arms control in the Nordic region is shaped primarily by the interests and the capabilities of the USA and the USSR in the area. This chapter focuses on the changing military balance in the northern seas, its implications for the interests and policies of the great powers, and their effect on the prospects for a meaningful nuclear weapon-free zone. Increasingly, it has been revealed that the USA’s operational doctrine for employing its strategic nuclear forces has long called for counterforce attacks against Soviet strategic forces. The Soviet Union has also invested heavily in the modernization of its surface fleet. Concern about the adequacy of the US Navy has provoked discussion and disagreement on a series of problems of naval policy.
