Arms control is arguably one of the most prominent issues every nation of the world has to deal with, this is because every man woman and child on the planet may potentially be affected by the arms another country posses. In today's society more than ever the worry over the nuclear capability of countries is at the foreground of debate, some countries possess weapons of mass destruction a thousand times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the most notorious of which are the USA and the Soviet Union. These two countries became the strongest super powers after World War II and paraded their strength using the threat of nuclear weapons which came to a head in the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, a memorable date for those at the time who waited in the fear that their way of life could be obliterated forever. When answering this question we must be careful not to confuse stability with the quest for peace and security which is a goal of arms control, the fact that an area or country is free from the threat of arms isn't evidence to the stability of that country or the international system as a whole. How do to measure stability is a difficult process, is it economic stability, military stability or feeling of safety for the citizens of the state as well as the government. If the government feels unthreatened from external forces then it can turn its attention to pressing domestic problems, which may cause increased stability within the state as well as contributing to a hostile free international community.
Currently there are no international laws banning nuclear weapons, but there are restrictions on testing these weapons. There is a treaty to ban nuclear testing world wide, to establish inspections, and establish a network of monitoring stations to identify these situations. Thus far, not all forty-four of the countries with nuclear capabilities have signed, therefore making useless and unenforceable.