Abstract
Over the course of its existence, The NonProliferation Treaty (NPT) has impacted how the international community regulates nuclear weapon technology. With over 190 party states, the NPT has ensured the dismantlement of 50,000 nuclear weapons around the world. Although the NPT has led to a great deal of progress, a shift has occurred in non-proliferation efforts within the last ten years. Nuclear-weapon states party to the NPT have halted further disarmament of their nuclear arsenals and funded modernization programs for their remaining stockpiles which have heightened concerns among nonnuclear party and nuclear non-party states. It has also called into question the relevancy of the NPT. The purpose of this paper is to determine the NPT’s influence on the international community today by examining whether the treaty encourages nuclear weapon party states to disarm further? Whether the NPT is driving non-nuclear party states like Japan and Brazil away from nuclear weapons? And whether the NPT can motivate Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea from nuclear weapons, specifically when external threats incline them towards a nuclear option? Analyzing each case study, it is evident that the NPT has little to no influence on whether a state obtains nuclear weapons. Threats to national security are the critical factor as consistent with the realist school of thought.
Recommended Citation
Elshekh, Walla
(2018)
"The New Nuclear-Proliferation Treaty: The Present Day Influence of the NPT on the International Community,"
Locus: The Seton Hall Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 1, Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70531/2573-2749.1004
Available at:
https://scholarship.shu.edu/locus/vol1/iss1/6