Why arms limits can create a balance of weakness

Arms limits can leave states feeling weak and vulnerable even when their opponents also disarm. In this interpretation, the Washington Treaty bears more responsibility for the road to the Second World War than Versailles because it weakened Britain and its partners as well as their opponents. The pre-1914 dreadnought race supplies a counterfactual example: ordering four Dreadnoughts and four Invincibles together could have demonstrated an industrial lead that rivals could not profitably challenge. Repeating large orders might then have encouraged negotiation before war appeared attractive. The 1936 London agreement receives the sharpest criticism for restraining likely partners without binding all potential challengers. Nations are treated here as collections of interests whose leaders can act well or badly. The argument for arms control therefore depends on preserving credible deterrence and avoiding mutual insecurity.