The overarching question imparting urgency to this exploration is: Can U.S.-Russian contention in cyberspace cause the two nuclear superpowers to stumble into war? In considering this question we were constantly reminded of recent comments by a prominent U.S. arms control expert: At least as dangerous as the risk of an actual cyberattack, he observed, is cyber operations’ “blurring of the line between peace and war.” Or, as Nye wrote, “in the cyber realm, the difference between a weapon and a non-weapon may come down to a single line of code, or simply the intent of a computer program’s user.”
The disarmament 'pillar' of the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has historically been its most controversial. This work in progress considers how perceptions of disarmament have evolved within the context of the NPT regime. How have treaty parties defined Article VI obligations? How has the debate changed over the course of the treaty's lifetime, and what does it mean for the future of the regime?