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Arms Control (Nuclear Disarmament)

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Arms Control (Nuclear Disarmament) Arms control refers to any international limitation or regulation where developing, testing, producing, deploying, or even using weapons is concerned on the basis that it is inevitable for some national military establishments to continue existing. This concept points to some type of collaboration between states that are antagonistic or competitive in general when it comes to military policy, in a bid to lower the chances of war and in the event of such, to limit its damage (Jones 4). From a broader perspective, arms control is a product of historical state practices involving disarmament that has seen many successes and challenges since the 20th century. The two terms have at some point been differentiated where disarmament agreements are often deemed as direct prohibition of weapons possession and production, while arms-control agreements often start by limiting testing, deploying, or using of some types of weapons. Arms-control efforts especially between the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) and the U.S. during the Cold War were crucial to limitation of the nuclear arms race, and by the 20th century’s end, arms control as a term started denoting any arms-limitation or disarmament agreement (Browne, Shetty and Somerville 377). The most important are the NPT (Non-proliferation Treaty) and the CTBT (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty). The main benefit or importance of the NPT is that of ensuring that international peace and security are enhanced. Nonproliferation is built on the belief that there is international consensus regarding the further spread of nuclear weapons as occasioning weakening to security in all states, as well as leading to regional and global instability (Jones 5). The NPT has indeed been the bedrock for the international nuclear nonproliferation regime that includes safeguards, legal restrictions frameworks,

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