Editor's Note

As Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev meet for the first time this month, disarmament will be in the air. Although the immediate task will be for the two leaders to chart a successor to the bilateral Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, many hope that the two leaders will also set their sights on a longer-term vision: a world free of nuclear weapons.

Both presidents have previously lent their support to this cause, and they are far from the only ones. Inspired by an effort led by four senior U.S. statesmen, other world leaders such as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have recently supported calls for nuclear disarmament. This issue of Arms Control Today provides an in-depth look at some current thinking on how the world can translate good intentions into reality.

Our cover story features excerpts from an interview with former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans. The leaders of Australia and Japan have asked Evans and a Japanese colleague to lead an international commission charged with providing a practical road map for nuclear disarmament. Evans, who has long been involved with such issues, offers insights into this road map. He also provides his views on such current issues as the nuclear standoff with Iran.

Steve Andreasen examines potential diplomatic approaches that might help the world "get to zero." He settles on a hybrid approach that would have the United States and Russia lead such an effort with early involvement from other key nuclear-armed states. Randy Rydell reminds us that these recent discussions are not the first attempts that have been made at nuclear disarmament. Indeed, such efforts stretch back to the beginning of the nuclear age and have built some of the basis for today's actions. Nevertheless, he says that the current efforts have some unique characteristics and offers several suggestions for making this push more successful than its predecessors.

In our book review, John Holum looks at Reykjavik Revisited, a text that examines in detail the many issues that need to be tackled before getting to zero.

Our news section includes an extended news analysis by Oliver Meier on NATO's emerging debate about nuclear weapons, arms control, and nonproliferation policy. Peter Crail writes on North Korea's anticipated missile test and U.S. efforts to enlist Russia in pressuring Iran over its nuclear program. Cole Harvey reports on the recent meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to pave the way for the Obama-Medvedev discussion.