BULLETIN OF THE ATOMIC SCIENTISTS

Ramesh Thakur reflects on the history of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the rationale behind the new Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The two treaties give nations additional responsibilities to completely disarm. Read more. 

“In 1984, President Ronald Reagan noted the nuclear emperor had no clothes: ‘The only value in our two nations (the United States and Soviet Union) possessing nuclear weapons is to make sure they will never be used. But then would it not be better to do away with them entirely?’ Indeed it would. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)  tries to do so through a new normative settling point on the ethics, legality, and legitimacy of the bomb.”

Image: UN Photo, Kim Haughton.