Cooperative Security in the Post-Cold War International System: The Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Process

The thesis explores cooperative security efforts between the United States and Russia in the framework of the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Programme and other non-proliferation programmes, which were established in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse as a response to nuclear proliferation threats in the former Soviet Union. One of the main objectives of CTR is to reduce nuclear dangers associated with vast nuclear arsenals, which first and foremost, means reductions in nuclear weapons.

This work presents an overview of different proliferation threats ranging from proliferation of nuclear material to potential �“brain-drain�” from the former Soviet nuclear complex, explains their technical and socio-economic aspects and assesses the effectiveness of the U.S.-Russian programmes, which deal with these threats. The CTR process has encountered some major obstacles on its way. The research suggests that some important problems in the implementation of CTR programmes are of bureaucratic nature. However, bureaucratic factors are aggravated by the political factors stemming from the fact that the national security policies of the U.S. and Russia are still in part based on concepts and strategies adopted during the Cold War. This is especially evident with regard to the role assigned to nuclear weapons by both countries. Therefore, the CTR process is used as a laboratory study of the U.S.-Russian strategic relations in the post-Cold War era.

The study demonstrates that the processes happening in the international security system below the surface and which might not be so obvious at a glance can be absolutely important for the future of the international system. The CTR process represents a mechanism, which can be used to build a new international system, where the role of the nuclear weapons becomes more and more obsolete.