The present international security environment seems less favorable to nuclear disarmament. All the existing mechanisms directed to promote disarmament and arms control are in despair. For example, the dismantlement of the existing arms control treaties between Russia and the West, arrival of newer technologies and renewed arms racing problems between US and Russia, US and China, China and India, India and Pakistan, turmoil in the Middle East and nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula introduced renewed stability challenges for broader non-proliferation mechanisms. Currently, states’ reliance on modernization of deterrent force has increased while their emphasis on disarmament has decreased.

Against this backdrop, the US has introduced a new initiative on creating an environment for nuclear disarmament (CEND) which aims at initiating dialogue among states to comprehend the global security context, states’ underlying security concerns, their bilateral threat perceptions and space to gauge a degree of trust in order to create an environment favorable to nuclear disarmament. Instead of focusing on numerical arms reduction and instantaneous elimination of nuclear weapons, the US-led CEND adopts an incremental approach on easing global tensions to promote security environment for nuclear disarmament. The contention is that the CEND can play a lead role in plugging gaps in the existing nuclear non-proliferation regime thereby making it relevant to twenty-first century realities. Further argument is that the broader arms control culture will lead to a stabilized security environment for a renewed consensus on disarmament.

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