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On the prohibition of nuclear tests in three environments:
between fear and doubt

Samoylovskaya N.A.,

MGIMO University, Moscow, Russia, n.samoylovskaya@inno.mgimo.ru

Article received: 2023.05.19. Accepted: 2023.07.20


DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2023.06.05
EDN: WVGYYD

Rubric: Theme of the issue: practices of the global crisis and mechanisms of political evolution

For citation:

Samoylovskaya N.A. On the prohibition of nuclear tests in three environments: between fear and doubt. – Polis. Political Studies. 2023. No. 6. https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2023.06.05. EDN: WVGYYD

The article was prepared with the financial support of MGIMO University within the framework of scientific project No. 2023-03-02.

Abstract

The article examines the formation of the negotiation process between the USSR and the USA on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in the context of agreements on the prohibition of nuclear tests in three environments. The main approaches of Russia and the United States to the problem of nuclear disarmament were formulated in the 1950s, and the analysis of historical events allows us to answer the main research question: how, in conditions of an irreconcilable ideological struggle, distrust and competition, the two powers managed to take the first steps to find compromise solutions that led to the creation of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime. The historical analysis allows us to create analogies with the current situation and look at the current crisis in the field of nuclear disarmament retrospectively. Special attention is paid in the article to 2nd track diplomacy and to the political activity of scientists connected with the development of atomic and hydrogen weapons, that, according to the author, allowed to formulate the concept of nuclear responsibility, which was an important component of the policy of nuclear deterrence. Drawing an analogy with the current situation, the author comes to the conclusion that the crisis in the field of nuclear disarmament is associated with a return to the policy of deterrence without its key component – nuclear responsibility, which allowed to balance the power policy and keep nuclear powers from plunging the world into an uncontrolled conflict.

Keywords

Russia, USSR, USA, nuclear weapons, crisis, nuclear responsibility, nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

 Full Text

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