UNITED STATES TREND OF DEVIATING FROM ARMS CONTROL TREATIES AND ITS IMPACT ON GLOBAL SECURITY SYSTEM

Abstract

Purpose of the study: The purpose of the study is to underscore the changing discourse of Washington’s approach towards global arms control and disarmament regime. United States in October 2018 announced its willingness to come out of 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force Treaty (INF). This not only invoked a new debate on the future of arms control treaties but also sent waves of insecurity in the global order that had been observing a positive discourse of disarmament between the two Cold War arch rivals. With ups and downs in the subsequent ultimatums at-last the fate of the treaty faced termination from the US in February 2019 just like the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) that was ended in 2002 by the then US President George W. Bush. The key question confronted in the study is about, why subsequent U.S. administrations are deviating from international commitments that the Washington made to ensure international peace and security?
Methodology: The study is descriptive in nature and follows deductive method with that of mixed method approach to highlight the challenges surrounding regime failure of global security system.
Main Findings: This study makes the point that the result of US withdrawals from her international arms control commitments would accelerate development and deployment elements of its Global ABM system in South Korea, Japan and number of European countries. That is why Washington’s decision to abandon INF treaty can be openly considered as a multistep strategy for denial of global security system. At the same time the final goal of this strategy is clearly visible, which is to weaken the reciprocal abilities of presumed rogue and revisionist enemy-countries. Additionally, the White House is interested in strengthening ties with allies such as India to contain Chinese rise. Applications of the study: In this study an attempt has been made to underscore the US security anxiety which revolves around the pretext of Russian and Chinese evolving missile modernization. Washington believes that to ensure her national security it has to neutralize both the Chinese and Russian factor in an adequate manner. This aspires and requires US missile deployments in Asia Pacific Region with that of additional air and sea delivery means in allies territories. In fact, the INF treaty was putting bar on the US options to mitigate the evolving security theatre. Somehow, Washington’s viewpoint to walk away from the INF treaty is the same as of ABM treaty. Novelty/ Originality of this study: The study has looked into the new but rapidly increasing securitization of strategic stability with that of confronting the very notion of global security order. The study has generated the information about the impact of United States trend of deviating from arms control treaties and its impact on global security system.