At no time since the Cuban Missile Crisis has the danger of nuclear war been greater. Not only are there regional crises relating to North Korea and Iran, there is a widening rift with Russia and a variety of tensions with China. The prospect of moderate international relations that emerged after the end of the Cold War has now been superseded by a period of great uncertainty and danger in the relations among leading sovereign states. This worrying circumstance is aggravated by the unreliable leadership qualities that exist in many countries in the world at the present time. In these circumstances, the terrorist preoccupations that existed after the 9/11 attacks have receded, at least temporarily, and the focus of concern about world politics has returned to a renewed emphasis on the (in)security of world order in the nuclear age.

At no time since the Cuban Missile Crisis has the danger of nuclear war been greater. Not only are there regional crises relating to North Korea and Iran, there is a widening rift with Russia and a variety of tensions with China.