Introduction

The specter of nuclear weapons and their associated material continue to pose a significant threat to global security deep into the twenty-first century. While many in the international community indolently regard such devices as being remnants of the Cold War with a limited impact on global stability, this assessment could not be further from the truth. Notwithstanding the substantial reductions in nuclear arsenals since the early 1990s, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the risks emanating from nuclear (in)security have actually expanded: more states in more unstable regions have attained such weapons, nonstate actors continue to pursue them, and the command-and-control systems in even the most sophisticated nuclear-armed states remain susceptible not only to system and human error but, increasingly, to cyberattack. Even a limited regional nuclear war would have calamitous global consequences. Moreover, the failure of existing nuclear-armed states to disarm, the inability to impede new states from obtaining nuclear weapons, the potential of terrorists gaining access to such weapons and their concomitant material, and the potential “gaps” presented by the construction and expansion of nuclear energy plants all present serious security challenges in the twenty-first century.

There is a positive. The number of nuclear weapons has declined markedly since the Cold War's demise: down from a peak of approximately 70,300 in 1986 to an estimated 12,700 warheads as of mid-2022. However, their very presence remains a global strategic/ political driver, evident in their storage and possession across ninety-eight sites in fourteen nation-states. Some 9,500 of these weapons are in military arsenals, while the others are either in the process of being retired or awaiting dismantlement. Roughly 3,650 are operationally available, and some 2,000 are on high alert and gauged toward potential use within a very short timeframe. The largest possessors of nuclear weapons are Russia and the United States, which together hold 91 percent of the total global suite. Significantly, the United States “houses” its nuclear weapons on eighteen sites, including twelve sites in eleven states within the United States, and a further six sites in five European countries. Given the recent deterioration of US-Russian bilateral relations and the position of NATO in the US-EU security calculi, the placement and strategic consideration of such weapons remains a source of ongoing consternation.