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A New US President Offers Chances to Reduce NATO-Russia Tensions

Image courtesy of U.S. Embassy Kyiv Ukraine/Flickr.

Russian foreign policy needs to be understood and adequately addressed for diplomacy to have a chance for a comeback in NATO-Russia relations. Here, the election of Joe Biden as US president could serve to reverse the worrisome tendencies in US foreign policy under Trump and restore pragmatic dialog and direct military contacts with Moscow. Calls from expert communities for rebuilding the arms control architecture to reduce the risk of unintended incidents and escalation are growing louder.

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CSS Blog

Arms Control Treaties, Nuclear Weapons, and Military Expenditure 1945-2020

This graphic depicts the stockpiles of nuclear weapons, arms control treaties and military expenditure in the United States of America and Russia between 1945 and 2020.

For a deeper look into arms control in Russia, the Russian government’s policy options in nuclear arms control & the differing conceptions of strategic stability in the 21st century of the USA, Russia, China, and Europe, read this issue of the Russian Analytical Digest here

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Coronavirus CSS Blog

Bulletin 2020: Das Corona-Krisenmanagement der Schweiz während der ersten Pandemiewelle

Die Corona-Pandemie zählt zweifellos zu den grössten Herausforderungen, denen sich die Schweiz seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg gegenübersieht. Aus diesem Grund widmet sich das Bulletin 2020 zur schweizerischen Sicherheitspolitik nahezu ausschliesslich dem Corona-Krisenmanagement der Schweiz während der ersten Welle. Die Beiträge ziehen erste Bilanzen, werfen wichtige Fragen auf und empfehlen, wie zukünftig Krisenvorsorge und -management nachhaltig verbessert werden könnten.

Zum Bulletin 2020

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CSS Blog Coronavirus

The US-China Clash over Corona Has Implications for Nuclear Arms Control

Image courtesy of the White House/Flickr.

This blog belongs to the CSS’ coronavirus blog series, which forms a part of the center’s analysis of the security policy implications of the coronavirus crisis. See the CSS special theme page on the coronavirus for more.

US-China relations are at a new low-point following the global spread of the coronavirus, which first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. The pandemic has exacerbated tensions in what was already a fragile relationship, plagued by disputes on issues related to the South China Sea, Taiwan, trade, and 5G technology. Nuclear weapons, however, were not featured as a central element of the US-China confrontation, at least not at same level as other issues of contention, but this is likely to change. A recent call for China to drastically increase its nuclear arsenal published in the nationalistic Chinese newspaper the Global Times has revived a domestic debate on Chinese nuclear deterrence, highlighting concerns over perceived US hostile behavior.

The P5 Must Reaffirm that Nuclear War Can’t Be Won and Mustn’t Be Fought

Image courtesy of US Department of State/Flickr.

This article was originally published in the ASPI’s The Strategist on 15 October 2019.

There are three sets of reasons for a palpable rise in nuclear anxieties around the world: growing nuclear arsenals and expanding roles for nuclear weapons, a crumbling arms-control architecture, and irresponsible statements from the leaders of some nuclear-armed states.