Multilateralism and Bilateralism in Controlling Nuclear Weapons
With both the multilateral nuclear nonproliferation regime and the bilateral US-Russia arms control regime facing serious setbacks in the past six months, better understanding the linkages between different agreement modalities may provide policymakers with a richer understanding of how to harness success—or failure—in one arena to improve prospects in others.
In February 2023, The Center for International Security and Cooperation's (CISAC) post doc fellow Naomi Egel, along with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), held a workshop in Washington D.C. to explore the interconnectedness of bilateral & multilateral efforts in arms control & nonproliferation and to highlight the need for policymakers to understand the linkages between different agreement modalities. Participants discussed the serious setbacks facing the multilateral nuclear nonproliferation regime and the bilateral US- Russia arms control regime in the past six months, with emphasis on the importance of drawing on lessons learned from the past to shape the future of arms control.
The history of bilateral and multilateral efforts to control nuclear weapons provides several key lessons:
The importance of personal relationships between negotiators
The impact of iterative virtuous cycles of negotiations
The role of bilateral relationships within multilateral negotiations
The need for a robust, longstanding platform from which topical issues can be assessed and addressed
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