{"id":349995,"date":"2025-11-15T09:50:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T04:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?page_id=349995"},"modified":"2025-11-15T09:50:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T04:20:11","slug":"answered-critically-examine-the-proposition-that-the-actions-of-a-us-president-could-be-the-catalyst-for-the-demise-of-the-global-nuclear-order-analyze-its-implications-for-multilateral-security","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answered-critically-examine-the-proposition-that-the-actions-of-a-us-president-could-be-the-catalyst-for-the-demise-of-the-global-nuclear-order-analyze-its-implications-for-multilateral-security\/","title":{"rendered":"[Answered] Critically examine the proposition that the actions of a US President could be the catalyst for the demise of the global nuclear order. Analyze its implications for multilateral security.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Despite nuclear arsenals reducing from 65,000 in the 1970s to 12,500 today (SIPRI 2024)<\/strong>, recent U.S. signals of resuming nuclear testing threaten to erode long-standing norms, rekindling uncertainties in global nuclear governance.<\/p>\n

Why Presidential Decisions in the U.S. Matter for the Global Nuclear Order<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. The U.S. as an Architect of the Nuclear Regime: <\/strong>The United States shaped the NPT (1968)<\/strong>, led the push for the CTBT (1996)<\/strong>, and negotiated major arms-control treaties such as INF (1987)<\/strong> and New START (2010)<\/strong>. Because the U.S. is a nuclear superpower and norm-setter, any deviation from restraint signals a systemic shift.<\/li>\n
  2. Resumption of Nuclear Testing: A Normative Shock: <\/strong>Donald Trump\u2019s 2025 announcement to \u201cstart testing our nuclear weapons\u201d risks: Breaking the moratorium since 1992, <\/strong>Undermining the global taboo on nuclear explosive tests and <\/strong>Encouraging Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea to follow suit. The CTBT<\/strong>, although not in force, functions as a de facto global norm. Its collapse would dismantle verification structures like the International Monitoring System (IMS)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  3. Acceleration of a New Arms Race: <\/strong>Presidential encouragement of testing or arms development heightens instability by incentivising states to pursue new warhead designs, hypersonic glide vehicles, and MIRV capabilities. Even before Trump\u2019s announcement, an incipient arms race existed: Russia<\/strong> tested the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile and Poseidon underwater drone, China<\/strong> is rapidly expanding warheads (projected 1,000 by 2030) and U.S.<\/strong> began deploying low-yield warheads (W76-2) and new B61-13 bombs<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n