Nuclear Escalation and the New-Old Cold War

In February 2023, Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of the START Treaty which was central to the shaky, post-Cold War nuclear framework that applied to the major signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. As the Ukraine war grinds on, it has raised the spectre of nuclear escalation, not only in Ukraine but also across the Asia Pacific. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists’ doomsday clock recently moved thirty seconds closer to midnight. The problem we confront is now far more complex and multifaceted than the old Cold War superpower balance. To explore this confused and confusing geopolitical landscape the authors of this report have adopted a multidisciplinary approach embracing to try to understand the role that nuclear strategy might play in a post liberal institutional world order divided into geopolitical blocs.