World leaders are losing their terror of nuclear war

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece on The Economist or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: In an editorial published 8 September, The Economist argues that world leaders are losing the fear of nuclear war that once restrained them, and that Putin, Trump and Xi — who control the world's most powerful arsenals — should take nuclear risk more seriously
• The argument is framed around the release of The Brink of War, a film marking the 40th anniversary of the Reykjavik summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev

🔭 The context: The piece draws on cold war precedent, arguing that shared dread of annihilation repeatedly pushed American and Soviet leaders toward restraint

⏭️ What's next: New START expired on 5 February 2026, leaving the US and Russia without legally binding limits on strategic nuclear forces for the first time since the early 1970s
• Trump said the US would seek a "new, improved, and modernized" treaty, but no bilateral or multilateral negotiations are under way
• China's disarmament ambassador Shen Jian said Beijing will not join disarmament talks at this stage, maintaining that Washington and Moscow hold primary responsibility for cuts first
• US officials have signalled the country retains non-deployed capacity that could expand the arsenal

💬 One quote: US arms control diplomacy should take "into account all Russian nuclear weapons, both novel and existing strategic systems, and address the breakout growth of Chinese nuclear weapons stockpiles" — Thomas DiNanno, US arms control official, February 2026

📈 One stat: Russia holds an estimated 5,459 nuclear warheads and the United States 5,177, per ICAN — against the 1,550 deployed strategic warheads each that New START capped until its expiry

📈 One stat: 60,000 nuclear warheads under the control of the two leaders meeting at Reykjavik in 1986.

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