New publication on the NPT and banning nuclear weapons
Recently renewed attention to nuclear weapons as instruments of terror and destruction rather than of security and prestige has reinvigorated global determination to eliminate them once and for all. For many, a key strand of the humanitarian discourse on nuclear weapons is the call for negotiations to commence on a new treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons. Some have expressed concern that such a treaty would cut across the NPT and divert attention from it.
This paper argues that rather than constituting a challenge to the NPT, a process to ban nuclear weapons that arises from the discussion around the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons has the potential to prevent the NPT’s collapse.