Exorbitant Privilege of Nuclear-weapon States in a Multipolar World

Abstract

As a Chinese-brokered peace deal for the war in Ukraine starts to form, the previously unthinkable reality that Russia as the aggressor may end up possessing a substantial amount of occupied territories sinks in. In violation of Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter and turning Article 51 on its head, Russias adventurism since the 2014 annexation of Crimea signifies the emerging norm of exorbitant privilege enjoyed by nuclear-weapon states. Through case study of Russias nuclear coercion and systematic review of realist literature, the essay seeks to demonstrate the potency of such exorbitant privilege and its implications in a multipolar world. The essay finds that nuclear-weapon states possess emerging ability to legitimize use of force against, possess occupied territories of, and extract political concessions from nonnuclear states, in spite of the U.N. Charter and its founding principle of the sovereign equality of all states.