Answers + Evidence

The abolition of nuclear weapons is an idea whose time has come, and a future we must achieve. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t still a lot of questions.

Fortunately, we’ve got answers. Check out our Q&A, below — and learn why abolition is getting such strong, nonpartisan support that even skeptics have to give it a fair hearing. Want to take the answers with you? Download our formatted factsheet.

If you’ve got a question that we haven’t answered, be sure to let us know by clicking the box to the right. We’ll do our best to respond — and we might even add your question to the list of Answers + Evidence.

is abolition possible?

A nuclear Iran is unacceptable, and every moral and practical step should be taken to prevent it. That said, Iran is a perfect example of the need to make the elimination of nuclear weapons the direct goal of present policy. Doing so would not solve the Iranian problem immediately, but it would give us much more powerful tools to deal with the situation. Iran flirts with nuclear capabilities because of the two-tier world of nuclear haves and have-nots; it is presently able to flaunt international will because the U.S. and Russia cannot preach nuclear temperance from the atomic barstool. If the nuclear powers demonstrated good-faith leadership toward a world without nuclear weapons, global pressure on Iran would increase substantially. Such a position would de-incentivize nuclear breakout, and stimulate the development of technological and diplomatic safeguards that would make our world safer.