ABSTRACT
The accumulation of weapons, particularly nuclear weapons, constitutes much more of a threat than a protection to the future of mankind. The time has come to abandon the use of force in international relations and to seek security in disarmament. Yet in the 1950s and early 1960s there were high hopes, now hard to recall, for General and Complete Disarmament (GCD). In 1955 the USSR accepted a western draft of a treaty of GCD and the world seemed close to comprehensive disarmament until the USA withdrew from all its previous negotiating positions. The basic thrust of GCD is the elimination of armed force as a factor in inter-state relations. The idea of a process of disarmament implies accepting limited progress to begin with, setting sights lower than GCD but with the long-term aspiration of achieving security through disarmament.
