Disarmament Definition: The Untold Challenges of Global Disarmament in 2024

In this article, we will discuss the Disarmament Definition, the Background of the Disarmament treaty, and the possible consequences of reversing it. Let’s start.

Introduction

The horrors of the two world wars that took place in the 20th century shocked the human race and tarnished humanity. People first got an idea of ​​the magnitude of the devastation of the atomic bomb on August 6 and 9, 1945 during World War II. Due to the continuation of the Cold War that started after the Second World War, the world was divided on the principle of Peace and Balance of Power. On the one hand, the communist states led by the former Soviet Russia, on the other, the coalition of Western states led by the United States.

During the Cold War, the fear of atomic bombs was greatest. Due to the increase in the arms race, suspicion, anxiety and tension between different countries increased during this time. Moreover, the arms race increases the military expenditure of the countries concerned. As a result, the country’s economic development is particularly disrupted. Apart from that, the extent of the devastation caused by the atomic bombs used against Japan in World War II created great fear in everyone’s mind. Given these conditions, disarmament becomes essential to protect the future generations of the world from nuclear weapons.

What is disarmament definition?

Disarmament generally refers to the reduction or elimination of weapons. Disarmament means the reduction of certain types or all types of weapons, the destruction of manufactured weapons, or the cessation of production to stop the arms race. Disarmament is the reduction or elimination of instruments or materials used for force or armed conflict. The original meaning of disarmament in international politics has been broadened a bit. For example, if a state voluntarily reduces the production of weapons, it can also be called disarmament. Disarmament is the voluntary agreement between two or more states to reduce or eliminate the production of weapons.

Prof Sharp and Kirk said, “Disarmament is the reduction or elimination of certain of all armaments to end armament race”.

And disarmament can happen in multiple stages. It can be unilateral or collective disarmament. Or it may be local or numerical disarmament of conventional or nuclear weapons. Disarmament in its general sense refers to the reduction, restriction, or elimination of the number of armed forces, the amount of weapons, or specific types of weapons of a state or their use.

Background on Disarmament:

The process of disarmament started after World War II. The horrors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki inspired world leaders to commit to disarmament. Although disarmament became a reality in the 20th century, it began with the development of liberalism in international politics in the 19th century.

After the First World War, a renewed emphasis was placed on disarmament. World leaders understand that disarmament is inextricably linked to the maintenance of international peace and security and the peaceful settlement of state disputes. And so the arms control debate occupied an important place in international politics in the last century. Between World War I and World War II, the naval superpowers took significant steps to maintain the balance of naval power.

The Washington Conference held in 1921-22 and the London Conference of 1930 achieved considerable success in limiting naval power. The then League of Nations also took several steps aimed at advancing international disarmament. But in the 1930s, the rise of German, Italian, and Japanese imperialism and the fear of Western liberal democrats led to a temporary collapse of this effort.

The advent of atomic weapons in World War II accelerated the activities of disarmament advocates. Many eminent writers, intellectuals, and policymakers supported the efforts to ban the “nuclear bomb”. Nuclear disarmament then becomes a moral imperative. Because of this, the existence of mankind is threatened. The issue of nuclear disarmament received huge publicity on radio, TV, and cinema.

The disarmament movement gained support from around the world. During the Cold War, the leaders of the major powers gave considerable importance to the issue of arms control. Many consider the role of disarmament to be significant in ending the Cold War and easing tensions between the superpowers. During this time most disarmament talks were held and several agreements were signed. Some of the notable ones are:

1. Strategic Arms Limitation Talks-1 (1972), (SALT-1)
2. Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968), (NPT)
3. Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) (1991) and
4. Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) (2010).

Steps taken towards disarmament:

Although the first initiatives to strengthen the disarmament system began in the nineteenth century, they did not bring any significant benefits. In the first half of the 20th century, there were several attempts at disarmament before World War II. But there was no progress.

However, when the United Nations was formed after the Second World War, the United Nations Disarmament Commission was formed in 1952 given the strong demands of its member states. Since 1979, the Geneva-based Committee has come to be known as the Committee on Disarmament. As a result of the various efforts of the United Nations and governments, several steps have been taken in the field of international arms treaties, especially in the prohibition of nuclear weapons. These are multilateral action and Bilateral measures. Lets discuss on these: 

 Multilateral Action

1. Antarctica Treaty:

This agreement was signed in 1959. The treaty prohibits all military exercises, weapons testing, and the transfer or storage of radioactive remains in the Antarctic region.

2. Nuclear Weapons Test Ban Treaty:

Signed in 1963, the treaty bans nuclear weapons tests on land, in space, and underwater. However, it does not mention the prohibition of underground weapons testing.

3. Space Treaty:

It was signed in 1966. The treaty prohibits the placement or detonation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in orbit around the Earth, including the Moon, and in other areas of space. It also prohibits the military use of outer space, or the deployment of nuclear weapons in space and the development of weapons stockpiles in space.

4. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty:

This agreement was signed in 1968. The purpose of this treaty is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons from nuclear to non-nuclear states, to initiate the process of disarmament in nuclear states, and to guarantee the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes in all countries of the world. 40 countries have signed the agreement signed for 25 years in the initial phase. The contract expired in 1995 and was renewed indefinitely in 1998. 178 countries signed it. Several countries including India, Pakistan, and Israel have not signed it. This treaty is also known as the NPT treaty for short. NPT stands for Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

5. Sea Treaty:

This agreement was signed in 1971. It prohibits the deployment of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, or the provision of facilities for such weapons, beyond the 12-mile coastal zone of any country.

6. Environment Agreement:

The agreement, signed in 1977, restricts the use of military technologies that cause widespread, permanent, and harmful effects on the environment, in terms of weather and climate change, including earthquakes and cyclones.

7. Chemical Weapons Convention:

The agreement signed in 1993 prohibits the development, production, and stockpiling of all types of chemical weapons and talks about the destruction of these weapons. The treaty was formulated at a conference held in 1992 and opened for signature in 1993. The agreement came into effect in April 1997.

8. Ottawa Convention:

Signed in 1997, the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines is prohibited. Bangladesh has signed this agreement as the 126th member.

9. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty:

In 2010, 47 countries of the world participated in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Conference in the United States and discussed together how to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Bilateral measures

1. SALT-1 (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty): This treaty was signed between the United States and the former Soviet Union on May 27, 1972. According to this agreement, the production of ‘Anti Ballistic Missile’ between the two countries is permanently stopped and the production of offensive weapons is stopped for five years.
2. SALT-2: This agreement was signed on June 18, 1979, between the United States and the former Soviet Union. The two sides agreed to limit the number of offensive weapons to 2,400 and the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles (IBM) to 2,250.
3. START-1 (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty): This was also signed between the United States and the former Soviet Union. The core of the agreement was to reduce the number of long-range missiles by both the United States and Russia to 1,600 and the number of nuclear warheads to 6,000 by 2001, and to reduce their stockpiles by 30 percent from 1991.
4. START-2 Treaty: This treaty was signed in 1993 between Russia and USA. Under the agreement, both countries agreed to reduce the number of nuclear warheads to 3,500 by 2003.
5. START-3 Treaty: Signed in 1997, Russia and the United States agreed that both countries would begin negotiations on further reductions in nuclear weapons only after the implementation of the START-2 Treaty.
6. START-4 Treaty: The START-4 Treaty was signed in May 2010 in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and US President Barack Obama. The goal is to significantly reduce the nuclear arsenals of both countries.

Disarmament Requirements:

The disarmament requirements are discussed below:

1. World peace and security:

Disarmament is essential for world peace and security. It can be seen from history that the huge stock of weapons is the cause of all major wars including the First and Second World Wars. Therefore, if disarmament and arms control programs are implemented, chaos including war will be reduced in the world and peace and security will return to the world.

2. Economic Development:

Many developing countries, including the great superpowers, are spending a large portion of their budgets on arms production and procurement and military buildup. As a result, the implementation of many development plans is being disrupted. For example, India and Pakistan spend a huge amount of money every year in the military sector, so many welfare projects cannot be implemented.

Again, if a certain portion of the huge amount of money spent by the superpowers in the military sector were reduced and given to the developing and poor countries, their poverty would be greatly reduced. Therefore, disarmament is necessary to reduce the military budget and provide aid to poor countries for their economic development.

3. Reducing the likelihood of war:

The development of new weapons and the build-up of their stockpiles lead to increased military tension in the world, resulting in armistices. While disarmament cannot completely prevent war and international tensions, it can significantly reduce the likelihood of war.

4. Reducing the horrors of war:

Disarmament can reduce the horrors of war by greatly reducing or reducing the number of atomic and nuclear weapons. Because if a superpower does not have these deadly weapons, then even if a war breaks out between them, these deadly weapons will not be used. As a result, the damage will be reduced to a great extent. On the other hand, if a war breaks out in the current state, the entire world will be destroyed by the use of nuclear weapons.

5. Protection of public health:

The radiation released by a nuclear explosion poses a threat to public health, including environmental pollution. The cost of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster is still being paid to the people of the region and for how long, no one can say. The people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been vivid witnesses to the destructive power of nuclear weapons. The consequences of the use of nuclear weapons are extensive and far-reaching. Hence, disarmament is also essential to protect public health.

Major Obstacles to Disarmament:

Disarmament is essential for world peace and security. But despite this, there are various problems in its implementation. These are:

1. Different countries produce weapons for the sake of national security. Those who believe in the principles of peace also feel the need for arms for the sake of national security. Therefore, no state will be interested in undertaking a program of disarmament unless a fully credible commitment can be made to serve a state’s security and legitimate national interests.
2. To establish and maintain one’s hegemony in world politics, an arsenal of lethal weapons is necessary. The lack of hegemony is therefore a major obstacle to disarmament.
3. If disarmament takes effect, many military industries in developed countries will close down and the unemployment problem will increase. This is also a problem of disarmament.
4. Disarmament is a hindrance to the arms export trade of developed countries. As a result, they are not in favor of it.
5. Determining and reaching a consensus on the minimum stockpile each country can maintain is extremely difficult. Because in these discussions, the dominance of the superpower is maintained, which the other states concerned are not willing to accept. As a result, disarmament is hindered.
6. There are many differences in the type nature, performance, number, etc. of weapons in different countries. Apart from that, there are differences in the size of military forces, training methods, the number of troops required to protect the country’s borders, etc. This makes it difficult to determine the rate of disarmament, which hinders the path to disarmament.
7. Implementation of disarmament agreements is also a big problem. Because once a country accepts a disarmament proposal, it remains in doubt whether it is trying to implement it or not. This mistrust is hindering disarmament.
8. The advanced technology of modern weapons has made qualitative disarmament impossible. The great powers are now more inclined to develop new lethal weapons than to stockpile them. So that they can gain more advantage in defense. So now the arms race is in the laboratory, not in the field. As a result, real disarmament has now become an unrealistic fantasy.
9. Even after signing the disarmament agreement, many are secretly violating it. Inspection and verification can be resorted to as an effective measure to counter this clandestine weapons production and stockpiling. But neither state is willing to accept the supervision of the other, which is a major problem in disarmament.
10. The presence of imperialist powers in the world is an obstacle to disarmament. As long as the imperialist powers remain, so will the problems on the road to disarmament.
11. A major obstacle to disarmament is international conflict. Because the superpowers are directly or indirectly involved in it.
12. The desire to achieve regional superiority also stands in the way of disarmament. For example, the competition for supremacy between India and Pakistan in the South Asian region is thus the main obstacle to disarmament.

Conclusion:

Disarmament is essential for world peace. Today, the world is afraid of the terrible destructive power of nuclear weapons. As a result of the blind arms race in the power struggle, a large part of mankind is living an inhumane life today. But a fraction of the billions of dollars spent on the arms race could feed the world’s hungry and oppressed masses. So people of the world are very aware today.

They are coming against this endless arms race. Hopefully, the world’s nuclear-armed nations are now coming forward to stop the world-wrecking arms race. However, although these initiatives can be observed on paper, such initiatives are not being observed in reality. However, for world peace and security, more effective and practical steps must be taken for disarmament, so that no country possesses nuclear weapons. And in that case, the five major powers of the world have to play the strongest and most effective role.