ABSTRACT
A zero nuclear weapon world without limits on conventional forces—numbers, weapon systems, deployments—would risk large-scale conventional war. Prudent measures beforehand would be designed to prevent wars, and if war were begun then dampen its spread, limit its scale, and bring it to a prompt end. Although forces could be limited unilaterally, or regionally, the more likely path is to limit by global agreement. The most ambitious model for global force limitation is the regional Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) framework. Agreed force limitation has a double aim: to permit forces large enough to provide internal security and defend against attack, and to constrain forces so that they are too small and too ill-configured to mount a military threat against others. CFE provides a framework defining what agreed levels are, and requires binding commitments and help to sustain reduced levels.
