Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre

A new series of papers by the Henry L. Stimson Center aims to show nuclear powers that the "elimination of nuclear weapons [is] a realistic and viable option." The papers, by the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization devoted to international peace and security, are assessing the disarmament question as it relates to a dozen countries, including the nuclear powers of Russia, the United States, and Israel; aspirants, such as North Korea; and those that could be future weapons states, such as Japan and Brazil. The first set of papers looks at Britain and France. The assessment finds that Britain is "best placed to abandon its nuclear status," while such a move by France "would require extraordinary circumstances." However, the papers "make clear that if the US and Russia make significant progress toward deep reductions in their own arsenals . . . the two West European nuclear powers are likely to come to the table, as well."