Missile proliferation

Nature

Missile proliferation refers to the spread of missile technology and delivery systems, particularly those capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction, among states and non-state actors. This trend poses significant global security risks by increasing the likelihood of regional arms races, destabilizing international relations, and raising the potential for conflict escalation. The uncontrolled dissemination of missile capabilities undermines nonproliferation efforts, complicates arms control agreements, and heightens the threat of missile use in warfare or terrorism. Addressing missile proliferation is a major challenge for international security and requires coordinated diplomatic, legal, and technical measures.

Background

Missile proliferation emerged as a global concern during the Cold War, when the spread of ballistic missile technology beyond superpowers became evident. The 1980s saw heightened alarm as regional actors acquired delivery systems capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction. International awareness intensified following the Gulf War, prompting multilateral efforts such as the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 1987. Ongoing technological advances and clandestine transfers have since sustained international vigilance and debate.

Incidence

There is no shortage of ideas for how to tackle missile proliferation. The real question is one of international will. The United States is unlikely to sit idly by while its own territory or those of its core allies in Europe, Asia or the Middle East are threatened with missile attack by nations such as North Korea, Iraq or Iran. To accept that vulnerability, as the U.S. sees it, would be to forfeit a good part of America's power and prestige in the world. The issue, then, is whether those threats will be mitigated by the brutal and unilateral assertion of superpower might; or whether the international community can devise other means of defusing what is literally an explosive problem.

Claim

As Saddam Hussein has shown – in the bombardment of Teheran that closed the Iran-Iraq war, and in the attacks on Israel that almost broke apart the alliance in the Gulf war – a tactical missile (even just a Scud with a modest high-explosive warhead) can have strategic consequences.

Counter-claim

Missile proliferation is vastly overblown as a global concern. Nations have the right to defend themselves, and the spread of missile technology is simply a natural progression of military advancement. Fears about instability are exaggerated; deterrence has kept major conflicts in check for decades. Resources spent worrying about missile proliferation would be better used addressing real issues like poverty and climate change, rather than chasing an overhyped, largely theoretical threat.