Declared policy, state by state

Every cell quotes an official document. Click a cell for the full text, its source and earlier wording. Hatched cells are "Not declared": no official statement on that element was found, and none is inferred.

Timeline of changes

Drag across to set the year. Click a marker for the document.

Compare two states, as of 2026

How to read it

Declaratory policy is what a government says, in an official document, about when it would or would not use nuclear weapons. It is not the same as war plans, which no state publishes, and a promise can be withdrawn. The matrix records the words and their dates, and leaves judgment about credibility to the reader.

The five columns are: no first use (a pledge never to be the first to use nuclear weapons, or an explicit refusal to make one); negative security assurances (promises not to use nuclear weapons against states without them); role (sole purpose, fundamental role or similar statements of what the weapons are for); conditions for use; and alert posture (official statements about readiness). The short label on each cell is a finding aid; the quote is the evidence.

Move the year slider or drag the timeline to see what was on record at an earlier date. A cell reads "Not declared" when no official statement on that element was found up to that year.

Method

Sources