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174 - Preventing the use of nuclear weapons

What this challenge is about

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was accompanied by a series of threats from Russia regarding the use of nuclear weapons, which would mark the first time such weapons have been used in the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the preceding years, nearly all the major nuclear arms control treaties, notably the landmark 1987 INF Treaty credited with contributing to the end of the Cold War, had been allowed to lapse, meaning there are fewer curbs on nuclear weapons than there have been for decades. In addition, the expansion of the nuclear arsenal of the People's Republic of China, and the worsening of relations between China and the West, poses further challenges to nuclear arms control. Taken together, these developments have created a situation in which the use of nuclear weapons is more likely than at any time since the end of the Cold War. In response to this societal challenge, our vision is to prevent the use of nuclear arms using a three-pronged strategy: (i) public education; (ii) working with NGOs and activists; and (iii) informing policy discussions on arms control.

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