Article 1: New beginnings
Why in news: The New START Treaty expired on February 5, 2026, ending U.S.–Russia nuclear limits and raising concerns over renewed arms races and weakened global arms control frameworks.
Key Details
- New START expired on February 5, 2026, ending U.S.–Russia nuclear limits
- Cold War arms race led to over 10,000 warheads each by the 1980s
- SALT (1970s) capped arsenals but did not reduce them
- START I (1991) first mandated real reductions to 6,000 warheads
- Later treaties cut limits to 1,700–2,200, then 1,550 under New START
- Geopolitical shifts favour renewed arms-race doctrines
- U.S. position links future arms control to China’s inclusion
- Global regimes like NPT and CTBT may face erosion
Expiration of New START (February 5, 2026)
- End of a landmark treaty
- The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) officially expired on February 5, 2026
- It symbolised a fading era of Cold War–style arms control cooperation
Cold War background to arms control
- Era of nuclear one-upmanship
- The United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) competed through
- Testing massive nuclear weapons
- Conducting space races and military demonstrations
- Uncontrolled accumulation
- By the 1980s, both sides possessed over 10,000 strategic nuclear warheads
- The U.S. enjoyed a numerical and technological advantage
Early arms control efforts
- Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), 1970s
- Focused on capping nuclear arsenals
- Did not require actual reductions
- Failed to reverse the arms race trajectory
START I: a turning point
- Negotiations and signing
- Talks began in 1982
- Treaty signed in July 1991, shortly before the USSR collapsed
- Key achievements
- First agreement to reduce, not just limit, nuclear weapons
- Each side restricted to
- 6,000 strategic warheads
- Proportional reductions in delivery systems
- Resulted in roughly 30% fewer warheads than earlier limits allowed
Progress beyond START I
- Subsequent reductions
- Later agreements lowered deployable warheads to 1,700–2,200 per side
- New START (2010)
- Capped deployed strategic warheads at 1,550 each
- Marked a steady decline from Cold War peaks
Why New START was not replaced
- Shifting global geopolitics
- Return of imperialist tendencies
- Mercantilist tariff systems
- Renewed competition for territory and influence
- Revival of arms-race thinking
- Arms control seen as a constraint rather than a stabiliser
U.S. position and China factor
- Conditional arms control
- U.S. President Donald Trump stated future treaties must include China
- Argument: the U.S. will not accept limits if
- Other major powers are free to expand nuclear stockpiles
Implications for global nuclear regimes
- Threat to broader agreements
- Potential weakening of
- Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
- Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)
- Structural criticism
- NPT viewed as discriminatory, dividing nuclear “haves” and “have-nots”
A possible opportunity
- Restarting dialogue
- End of START could reopen discussions
- Scope for more equal and inclusive arms control frameworks
- Chance to rethink nuclear restraint on fairer global terms
Conclusion
The expiry of New START marks the collapse of the last major U.S.–Russia arms control framework, increasing risks of a renewed nuclear arms race. It may weaken global non-proliferation regimes like the NPT and CTBT, yet also offers an opportunity to revive inclusive, equitable arms control negotiations suited to today’s multipolar world.
Descriptive question:
Q. Discuss the significance of the expiry of the New START Treaty in 2026 and examine its implications for global nuclear arms control and non-proliferation efforts in a changing geopolitical order. (10 marks, 150 words)