The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and Its Consequences on the Nuclear Disarmament System with Emphasis on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Abstract

Nuclear disarmament is an institution that coincided with the emergence of the first nuclear weapons. Almost all nuclear documents, including NPT, view nuclear disarmament as the ultimate destination on this path. But the application of the theory of nuclear deterrence have so far prevented this goal from being realized. In September 2017, non-nuclear-weapon states parties to the NPT, approved the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which was welcomed by peace advocates and humanitarian organizations but encountered with the boycott of nuclear- weapon-states and their allies. While the treaty has not yet entered into force, it has raised many questions, including how it interacts with the NPT and its step-by-step disarmament program, so that its opponents believe it undermines the international consensus and all efforts which have been made. But proponents view it as a new legal and ethical norm that could put additional pressure on nuclear-weapon-states to abandon the theory of deterrence and accept nuclear disarmament.