When is it legitimate to abandon the NPT? Withdrawal as a political tool to move nuclear disarmament forward

ABSTRACT

Treaties can be denounced and withdrawn from unilaterally and collectively. We ask when it would be legitimate to abandon the NPT, a treaty that 50 years ago committed states to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, but still has not delivered on the latter. The end of the NPT is a taboo subject in the arms control community that sees it as the cornerstone of the nuclear order. We draw on literature on the legitimacy of and exit from international institutions. We especially explore the political substance of the discontent that the non-nuclear weapons states have expressed in and outside the NPT forum. Exiting the NPT can legitimately be used as a political tool to challenge the current status quo where five states claim a right to possess nuclear weapons based on the NPT, and to achieve a nuclear order where nuclear weapons are illegal for all.

KEYWORDS:

• Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
• legitimacy
• treaty withdrawal
• international institutions
• Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
• nuclear disarmament

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Acknowledgements

Our thanks to Benoit Pelopidas for encouraging us to develop the theoretical framework for the relationship between exit from the NPT and nuclear disarmament.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joelien Pretorius

Joelien Pretorius is associate professor in International Relations at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. She is also a member of the South African chapter of Pugwash.

Tom Sauer

Tom Sauer is professor in International Politics at the Universiteit Antwerpen in Belgium. He is also active in the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.