Nuclear Disarmament after New START
The purpose of this paper is to examine and propose concrete nuclear disarmament measures which should be taken following the entry into force of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) on February 5, 2011. This treaty is the first concrete outcome from the famous Prague address by President Barak Obama in April 2009 and there still remain many items which should be pursued and implemented. I will take up the issues of the further reduction of strategic nuclear weapons, the reduction of non-strategic nuclear weapons, the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the negotiation of a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT), and the consideration of a nuclear weapons convention. I will examine the circumstances surrounding each issue, and make proposals for their realization.
Reducing Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Europe
Control of US and Russian tactical nuclear weapons has remained an elusive goal since the end of the Cold War, despite the fact that these weapons are particularly attractive to nuclear terrorists and represent a major danger from the standpoint of early or accidental use. Meaningful progress will probably require a larger deal in which there are trade-off between US concessions on issues of interest to Russia and Russian concessions on tactical nuclear weapons. Two options merit serious consideration. The first entails the withdrawal of the small number of US tactical weapons that remain in Europe to jump-start a dialogue. The second option involves a package deal that would include Russian agreement to initiate negotiations on tactical nuclear weapons reductions in exchange for NATO agreement to discuss changes in the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty. An optimal approach would be to launch a meaningful dialogue on tactical nuclear weapons in a separate forum, yet in parallel to the next stage of START negotiations.
Social Health Insurance Reforms—Mid-Term Experiences of Poland and Russia
As a result of transition process to market economy, Poland and Russia have come a long way from a centrally planned budget for social security to an insurance-type model in the social sphere. After more than two decades of reforms, it seems essential to compare and evaluate the policy solutions introduced in terms of the reform goals achieved and exposure to current challenges. The paper presents an analysis and comparison of social health insurance reforms conducted in Poland and Russia since the beginning of the 1990s. Moreover, the current problems of and future challenges for health care financing systems are identified. The varied experiences of Poland and Russia over more than 20 years show mid-term lessons which could be useful to other countries, especially those that face socio-economic transformation, in their choice of strategy and the practice of similar reforms.