The Cold War was also marked by a nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The development of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems has changed the nature of world politics, A global history of the nuclear arms race ยท Weapons, strategy and politics, The history of the international nuclear arms race is examined in the context of four historical eras: America America's nuclear monopoly, America's nuclear superiority, superpower parity, and the post-Cold War era. Because there are no winners in a costly nuclear arms race, citizens across the political spectrum, including the scientific community, have an important role and responsibility to play. The Department of Defense just released its annual report on China's military power, and the report undermines those in the Biden administration who promote nuclear weapons reduction. However slim the chances of this happening, the alternative risks a regional nuclear arms race. A history of failures The current impasse dates back to the end of the Cold War. The failure to internationalize nuclear technology, as some scientists hoped, sparked an arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Eisenhower, the former general, understood the strategic necessity of a nuclear arsenal but did not see the need "for us to build enough destructive power to destroy everything."