THE BULLETIN OF ATOMIC SCIENTISTS

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists published a contribution by Ramesh Thakur arguing that the ban treaty will “rob all nuclear-armed states of the fig leaf of international legitimacy, devalue nuclear weapons as the currency of international politics, and degrade both their military utility and political value.” He also suggests that the TPNW may unlock bilateral nuclear dialogues between the nuclear armed states. Learn more.

“The vast majority of countries in the world do not have nuclear weapons. Exasperated by the arms control reversals, fed up with slow progress on disarmament that was promised by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and motivated by humanitarian concerns, they have asserted their agency to take back nuclear legitimacy. The changed legal structure that will begin when the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters force January 22, 2021 will recalibrate the balance of costs and benefits to the net detriment of nuclear possessor states and create a deepening crisis of legitimacy for their status.”

Image: Jenny Villermin.