If I am not mistaken, I think the capability to effectively destroy an entire country with non-nuclear weapons already exists. So the idea is, MAD as a strateg

If I am not mistaken, I think the capability to effectively destroy an entire country with non-nuclear weapons already exists. So the idea is, MAD as a strategy would still be present. You can maintain a non-nuclear arsenal to enforce MAD. But we would get everybody to agree that the nuclear version of MAD would likely end humanity and therefore a global ban is appropriate. I doubt this will ever happen. But maybe in a post-Putin, more democratic (or subdued) Russia we could get there. Not sure how enforcement would work, but a global inspection organization combined with national intelligence capabilities might be sufficient to detect any significant build up. One can dream I guess.