How Emerging Technology Is Breaking Arms Control
Editor’s Note: New technologies are emerging at a dizzying pace, and arms control agreements cannot seem to keep up. My Brookings colleague Amy Nelson examines how the increased speed of technological change is creating holes in existing arms control agreements and how policymakers might better respond as the speed of change continues to grow.
Daniel Byman
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Until recently, arms control—the system of agreements, organizations and processes to regulate certain types of weapons—has proved an effective tool for threats from conventional and nuclear technologies. Today, however, arms control is suffering from a spate of major violations, suspensions and withdrawals.
But