Study Of Us-soviet Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty

Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Limitation of anti-ballistic missile systems (ABM Treaty, 1972), which was signed during the cold war, was an important treaty to hold back the arms race and the treaty was seemed as the base stone of world strategic stabilization.The core of ABM treaty is that, both parts should limit developing nation-wide defenses against ballistic missiles in case that both sides shared the recognition that such kind of defense system would most probably cause a destabilizing offence/ defense arms race undermining the power's individual and joint ability to control a crisis situation. Neither side would like to attack the other side with nuclear weapons if there were no sufficient defense systems to protect him from being attacked. According to the treaty, anti-ballistic missile system refers to 'a system to counter strategic ballistic missiles or their elements in flight trajectory'. Both parties were allowed to deploy limited Unti-ballistic missile system to protect each side's capital and one ICBM silo launcher. Also, 'each party understands not to develop, test, or deploy ABM systems or components which are sea-based, air-based, space-based or mobile land-based'; "This Treaty shall be of unlimited duration'; but 'each party shall, in exercising its national sovereignty, have the right to withdraw from this Treaty if it decides that extraordinary events have jeopardized its supreme interests.'Chapter one of this dissertation retrospects the development of nuclear weapons and analyses the evolvement of nuclear war stratagems of USSR and US during cold war time. In Chapter two, first I discuss the progress of signing the treaty and the reason of that, and then analyze the main articles of the treaty and the shortcomings in the treaty. Finally I describe the argument between USSR and US on the treaty during the cold war. Chapter three mainly describes the argument between US and Russia on the amendment of ABM treaty and how the treaty came to an end.The reason why I make the history of ABM treaty as the object of my studding is that we can learn the evolvement of international politics during the last thirty years through analyzing the history of the treaty. ABM treaty was an important outcome ofUSSR-US diplomatic progress in 1960s, during then the cold war slowly tided down from its climax, also made a solid base for further relieving. In aspect of international arms control, the signing of the treaty had hold back a new arms race on strategic defenses between the two superpowers, and impelled them to cooperate in controlling nuclear weapons. In aspect of the diplomacy of USSR and US, the signing of the treaty makes it possible for them to begin a new round of cooperation under the background of mutual deterrence, which changes the future relationship of both parties during the second half cold war. In aspect of international strategic structure, the signing of the treaty also means the form of a new stable two-pole-structure. Also, US party's decision to retreat from the treaty unilaterally after the end of cold war also demonstrates the forming of a new world structure, which deserves our study.