| Summary/Abstract |
The spring of 2017 was marked by rather abrupt U.S. interventions in the two most sensitive areas of world politics—Syria and North Korea. The new administration ordered an attack of 59 cruise missiles on Syria in a show of force and has made unequivocal threats against North Korea. In both cases, Russia and China, the top nuclear powers alongside the United States, saw their vital interests affected. Both showed restraint, which inspires hope. But who knows what consequences such actions may have in the future. The world is entering an even more complex and explosive period. It is heavily armed with the most lethal weapons but has lost the moral and intellectual basis for effective deterrence and balance. It is this fact rather than the abundance of weapons as such that causes the greatest alarm.
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