Other
Detlef Waechter
{
"authors": [
"Detlef Waechter"
],
"type": "other",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie Europe",
"Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center"
],
"collections": [
"Transatlantic Cooperation",
"U.S. Nuclear Policy"
],
"englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "NPP",
"programs": [
"Nuclear Policy"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"North America",
"United States",
"Caucasus",
"Russia",
"Western Europe",
"Germany",
"Europe"
],
"topics": [
"Nuclear Policy",
"Global Governance"
]
}
Source: Getty
Other
Why NATO Is on the Right Track
When NATO leaders convene in November, they will undertake a reexamination of the alliance’s policy on nuclear weapons, a review that, spurred by recent nonproliferation initiatives, could split NATO’s members if not handled carefully.
Published on Oct 27, 2010
When NATO leaders convene in Lisbon November 19-20, they will not only update the Alliance’s Strategic Concept to guide its work over the next decade but also reexamine its policy on nuclear weapons. Spurred by recent nonproliferation initiatives, the review could split NATO’s members if not handled carefully.
Detlef Waechter writes that NATO members should endorse the approach Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlined in her April meeting with foreign ministers in Estonia, which called for NATO to retain its nuclear status but reduce the role and number of nuclear weapons. This modest but realistic course will allow NATO to play a constructive role in arms control, he argues.
Key Policy Recommendations:
- Conduct a Nuclear Posture Review. NATO leaders should task the North-Atlantic Council with conducting a Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) and constructing detailed proposals on NATO’s nuclear policy to review at the next summit meeting.
- Talk with Russia. NATO should use the NPR to bring Russia to the negotiating table on issues of transparency, reduction, and redeployment of nuclear weapons. This issue should top the NATO-Russia Council meeting at Lisbon, which Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has been invited to attend.
- Adopt a multi-track approach. While isolated talks on tactical nuclear weapons will fail, a multi-track approach combining tactical nuclear weapons, stockpiled U.S. strategic weapons, conventional arms control, and missile defense could help the Alliance reach its goal of a nuclear-weapon-free Europe.
Using a multi-track approach “requires considerable will to compromise on the part of the United States, which owns the tactical nuclear weapons in Europe as well as the strategic weapons systems,” Waechter writes. “But the result—a European continent free of nuclear weapons, a NATO reconciled with Russia, and an Alliance free to tackle emerging security threats—would certainly make the effort worthwhile.”
About the Author
Detlef Waechter
Former Visiting Scholar, Nuclear Policy Program
Waechter is a visiting scholar in Carnegie’s Nuclear Policy Program, where his research focuses on NATO, nuclear, security and disarmament policy.
- Thinking Beyond Theories: Concrete Proposals to Make NATO's Future Nuclear Policy Work
- Defining NATO's Future RoleQ&A
Detlef Waechter
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Europe Is Falling Behind in General-Purpose Robotics. Here’s What It Can Do to Catch Up.Commentary
The continent needs to improve conditions for production of complete AI robotic systems and preserve its edge in hardware.
Pavlo Zvenyhorodskyi
- Lukashenko’s Bromance With Trump Has a Sell-By DateCommentary
Lukashenko is willing to make big sacrifices for an invitation to Mar-a-Lago or the White House. He also knows that the clock is ticking: he must squeeze as much out of the Trump administration as he can before congressional elections in November leave Trump hamstrung or distracted.
Artyom Shraibman
- The Middle Power Moment?Collection
The world has entered an era of upheaval—a period of heightened geopolitical rivalry, deepening political polarization, quickening technological change, glaring economic inequality, accelerating environmental crises, and eroding respect for international law. This moment of disruption and fluidity is also one of opportunity, however. It provides openings for middle powers, both established and emerging, to exercise unaccustomed agency and influence the future of global order.
Carnegie scholars are analyzing middle power responses to this moment of upheaval and assessing whether—and under what conditions—these states can contribute to practical problem solving. They are asking critical, concrete questions: What countries, precisely, are we talking about when we refer to middle powers? In what issue areas do their priorities converge and diverge, including across North-South divides? In what domains can middle powers pack a punch, rather than produce a whimper? Are they willing to shoulder actual burdens and responsibility? Finally, how can middle powers assert themselves globally, without running afoul of or threatening their relations with the United States or China?
- Can Mullin Revive FEMA?Commentary
Restoring competence and trust to the anemic, neglected disaster recovery agency is a matter of national security.
Sarah Labowitz, Debbra Goh
- Europe’s New Industrial Policy Can Learn From U.S. MistakesCommentary
Although the IAA often differs from the IRA, European policymakers can still take note of the U.S. act’s shortcomings.
Milo McBride
