Verisoph public archive

Arms control: caging the weapons

The attempts to limit war by treaty: The Hague, Geneva, the naval treaties, and the long nuclear bargain.

  1. Washington Naval Treaty

    Treaty among the five leading naval powers limiting battleship tonnage in a 5:5:3 ratio for Britain, the United States, and Japan. It was the first major modern arms limitation agreement.

  2. Geneva Protocol

    Protocol prohibiting the use of chemical and biological weapons in war, drawn up after the gas warfare of the First World War. It banned use but not production or stockpiling.

  3. Partial Test Ban Treaty

    Treaty among the United States, Soviet Union, and Britain banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, underwater, and in space. It was the first major nuclear arms control agreement of the Cold War.

  4. Biological Weapons Convention

    Convention banning the development, production, and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons. It was the first treaty to outlaw an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.

  5. Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty

    US-Soviet treaty signed alongside SALT I, strictly limiting missile defense systems to preserve mutual deterrence. The United States withdrew from it in 2002.

  6. Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

    US-Soviet treaty eliminating an entire class of ground-launched missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. It was the first treaty to abolish, not just limit, nuclear delivery systems; the US withdrew in 2019.

  7. START I

    US-Soviet treaty requiring deep verified cuts in deployed strategic nuclear warheads and delivery vehicles. It was the largest arms reduction agreement in history at the time.

  8. Chemical Weapons Convention

    Convention banning the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons and requiring destruction of existing stocks under international verification. Nearly all states have joined.

  9. Budapest Memorandum

    also in The bomb spreads

    Memorandum in which Russia, the United States, and Britain gave security assurances to Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan in exchange for giving up Soviet nuclear weapons. Russia's later invasions of Ukraine broke its commitments.

  10. Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

    Treaty banning all nuclear explosions in all environments, with a global monitoring system. It has not entered into force because key states have not ratified, but a de facto testing moratorium largely holds.

  11. Ottawa Treaty

    Convention banning anti-personnel landmines, driven by a civil society campaign that won the Nobel Peace Prize. Most states have joined, though major powers remain outside.

  12. New START

    US-Russia treaty limiting each side to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads with verification and data exchanges. It is the last remaining bilateral nuclear arms control treaty between the two powers.

  13. Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

    Agreement between Iran and six world powers limiting Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. The United States withdrew in 2018 and the deal has since unraveled.

Further reading