Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation: towards a nuclear-weapon-free world?

Abstract

This book examines the current debate on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, notably the international non-proliferation regime and how to implement its disarmament provisions. Discussing the requirements of a new international consensus on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, this book builds on the three pillars of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT): non-proliferation, disarmament and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. It reviews the impact of Cold War and post-Cold War policies on current disarmament initiatives and analyses contemporary proliferation problems: how to deal with the states that never joined the NPT (India, Pakistan and Israel); how states that have been moving toward nuclear weapons have been brought back to non-nuclear-weapon status; and, in particular, how to deal with Iran and North Korea. The analysis centres on the relationship between disarmament and non-proliferation in an increasingly multi-centric world involving China and India as well as the US, the European powers and Russia. It concludes with a description and discussion of three different worlds without nuclear weapons and their implications for nuclear disarmament policies. Contents: Part 1: Power Shifts and Nuclear Weapons. Part 2: The Legacies of Nuclear History and the Requirements of a New Consensus on Non-proliferation and Disarmament: The First Nuclear Era; Post Cold War doctrines; A global consensus on non-proliferation and disarmament. Part 3: Proliferation Problems and the Role of Nuclear Disarmament: The Three-State Problem; Rollback Experiences; The Case of Iran; How to Understand North Korea; The Relationship Between Disarmament and Non-Proliferation. Part 4: Towards a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World.