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The world total of some 50,000 nuclear warheads is beginning to fall off sharply. It should be well below 10,000 by the year 2000. Should the ultimate target be zero?
The idea of a nuclear-weapon-free world (NWFW) was put back on the world agenda by President Gorbachev in 1986. President Reagan also had a vision of a world without nuclear weapons. A number of politicians in the nuclear-weapon countries are beginning to see that such a world could be in their best interests. The disintegration of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the Communist regime have removed the main purpose of existing nuclear arsenals. The threat to world security now comes from nuclear-weapon proliferation, and the only effective way of stopping this is to have an enforceable worldwide ban.
The authors - many of whom are experts with long experience in the field of nuclear weapons - seek to answer two key questions regarding the concept of a NWFW: Is it desirable? Is it feasible? They outline what they see as the essential provisions of a NWFW treaty and examine the inevitable problems of enforcement. All stocks of weapon-usable materials - civilian as well as military - would have to be closely monitored and guarded. Any technological or official efforts would have to be supported by "societal verification." That is, it would be the duty of all citizens to notify authorities of any suspected violations.
Despite the problems of creating such a treaty and enforcing it, the idea of a truly nuclear-weapon-free world is no longer fanciful. It deserves extensive discussion, and this book provides a solid, informed beginning of the debate.
