Nuclear-free security: Refocusing nuclear disarmament and the review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Abstract:

This report is about a nuclear-weapon-free world, a political vision of President Obama and others for which there is an unusual window of opportunity. Nuclear weapons are losing their military meaning, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is seen as the main threat to security in the world.

In spite of this, change is not easy. States have investments in these weapons, often at great cost. Infrastructures such as weapons laboratories and production facilities are built around them. The world’s leading scientists have invested their future in nuclear weapon activities. The nuclear industry is a powerful lobby.

Nuclear weapons have an important role in the security strategies of the nuclear weapon states. This report starts by examining this role in order to understand the preconditions for the elimination of these weapons. The tasks they perform have to be achieved by other means, whether it is a question of a military threat or a manifestation of power. Conclusions are drawn on the role nuclear weapons play both militarily and non-militarily.