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Ditch the NPT

Journal Contribution - Journal Article

Without the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, nuclear-armed states and their allies could no longer rely on their skewed interpretation of it to legitimise continued possession of nuclear weapons. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) has become an impediment to a world free of nuclear weapons, and it is time to move beyond it. We first suggested as much in a September 2019 opinion piece in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, in which we asked whether it was time to ditch the treaty.1 We wrote the article to coincide with preparations for the treaty’s 50th anniversary and the critical 2020 NPT Review Conference. The view that the non-proliferation and disarmament regime is in serious trouble is not unique to us, yet our opinion piece caused something of a furore in the arms-control and peace community. Some observers even argued that we were being ‘woefully irresponsible’ by daring to imagine the NPT’s collapse and replacement.2 For many, our call to abandon a treaty that came as a great relief at the height of the Cold War was blasphemous. But, at 100 seconds to midnight,3 there can be no sacred cows. The problem must be looked at from all angles.
Journal: Survival
ISSN: 0039-6338
Volume: 63
Pages: 103 - 124
Publication year:2021
Keywords:A1 Journal article
BOF-keylabel:yes
BOF-publication weight:1
CSS-citation score:3
Authors:International
Authors from:Higher Education
Accessibility:Open