ABSTRACT
The anxiety to escape the intrusion of great power rivalry, to evade the security dilemmas caused by the threat from nuclear weapons and to make peace prevail underlies the initiative to establish a nuclear weapon-free zone (NWFZ) in the Nordic countries. An NWFZ would function as a buffer/disengagement zone between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Warsaw Pact countries in one of the strategically most vital spots on the globe, the current arena of a dynamic military buildup. In the Nordic countries the peace movements are today’s main carriers of aspirations for an NWFZ. Thus, education and awakening of concern remain primary tasks of the peace movement, an organic part of the political process leading to the establishment of the NWFZ. The strategy of unilateral disarmament initiatives is not without relevance to the process of the establishment of an NWFZ. The focal point in the process of launching and implementing the NWFZ must be the emphasis on nuclear de-escalation.
