This article is the English version of Patricia M. Lewis, « La maîtrise des armements à l’épreuve des crises », published in Politique étrangère (Vol. 91, No. 2, 2026) which celebrates the journal’s 90th anniversary.

The events of recent years have opened a pause for reflection on the role that arms control has played in the wider effort of international, collective security over the last 80 years.

In the context of Russia’s brutal land-grab war against Ukraine since 2022 and yet another horrendous conflict in the Middle East, the shocking United States (US) pull-back from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United Nations (UN), including the proposals of invading Greenland and Canada, has increased an already high sense of insecurity and fears of conflict escalation throughout the world.

In January 2026, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock was moved forward by 4 seconds to 85 seconds before midnight. An indication of global risks in terms of nuclear war, climate change and other global threats, including pandemics. The ticking Doomsday Clock also reflects the reduced restraints in arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament agreements.

Read the rest of the article here.

Find the table of contents for the anniversary issue (No. 2/2026) of Politique étrangère here.

>>> More articles of Politique étrangère are available for reading on Cairn International. <<<