This study attempts to bring the debate about nuclear weapons and arms control up to date by assessing the reasons for the recent superpower agreement, the decline of the peace movements, the new threats to international stability and the prospects for further detente. The optimism of the first edition about an eventual return to arms control has been vindicated by events, but its pessimism about the deeply-rooted nature of superpower confrontation remains and the assessment is retained that the nuclear knot remains firmly tied.
