Renewed Nuclear Proliferation?

## Details

Here are a few important points.

• The discussion questions are viewable online, so we will save paper by not printing them out.

Here are the video and discussion questions for this event:
https://www.buddytree.org/hangout/nGE6Kmw0s9

Videos:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUXQun8Stvk (3:41)

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92irxIOQ66k (7:59)

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH-5MhFrtEQ (10:41)

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y02v2fG4af4 (10:25)

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY49-TgP6eI (5:02)

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjdo28NW3MQ (5:08)

7: https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2026/02/05/nukes-of-hazard-us-russia-arms-treaty-expires (24:35)

Reading (Optional):

1. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/02/05/how-to-think-about-new-risks-of-nuclear-proliferation

2. https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/02/02/can-europe-do-nuclear-deterrence-without-america

3. https://www.economist.com/international/2026/02/03/america-risks-a-nuclear-arms-race-with-china

4. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/02/trump-nuclear-weapons-treaty/685856/

5. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/opinion/nuclear-treaty-deal-start.html

6. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/opinion/trump-nuclear-arms-control-proposal.html

Spanish (Optional):

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZuqiS1RqjU (3:06)

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve-MXl8teqE (14:32)

3. https://elpais.com/opinion/2026-02-06/armas-nucleares-sin-control.html

4. https://elpais.com/internacional/2026-02-05/el-final-del-ultimo-tratado-nuclear-entre-estados-unidos-y-rusia-abre-la-puerta-a-un-rearme-atomico.html

Italian (Optional):

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZqwJCQCYVU (1:04:36)

2. https://www.internazionale.it/notizie/amy-mackinnon/2026/02/03/accordo-limitazione-armi-nucleari

Questions:

1. Why do you think the treaty was allowed to expire? Was it pure negligence or pure calculation?

2. Would Putin have been amenable to extending or renegotiating the treaty this time around? Does he have any motivation to reach a new agreement now?

3. How does the expiration of the New START treaty impact US - Russia relations and global security?

4. How can the US and Russia involve China in nuclear arms control talks, given its growing nuclear capabilities?

5. Should countries like Japan and South Korea consider developing their own nuclear deterrents in response to regional threats?

6. Is nuclear deterrence still an effective strategy in the modern era, or are there alternative approaches?

7. What are the potential consequences of a nuclear conflict, and how can the international community prevent such a catastrophe?

In Collaboration with Ceit Hustedde (Longtime Member of Buddytree)