Introducing Face-Off: Nuclear Anarchy?

The global community faces a period of "nuclear anarchy" as long-standing treaties expire and major powers like the United States, China, and Russia aggressively modernize or expand their atomic arsenals. This escalating arms race mirrors the perilous tension of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, where a Soviet B-59 submarine nearly launched a nuclear-tipped torpedo due to ambiguous orders and severed communications. Current geopolitical hostilities between Washington, Moscow, and Beijing have revived the threat of unrestrained competition, necessitating a re-examination of historical near-misses and the origins of the bomb. Insights from nuclear negotiators and experts like Matthew Bunn highlight the strategic "slow rolling" tactics used in diplomacy and the shift toward military capabilities designed specifically to deter adversaries through fear. Understanding these past and present dynamics is essential to finding a path forward that limits the catastrophic risks and immense costs of a renewed nuclear age.