Andrew Brown: Western Europe could lead the way in disarmament
From a lecture by the biographer of the scientist, Desmond Bernal, given at Birkbeck College in London
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, signed originally in 1968 and renewed in perpetuity by most of the world's nations in 1995, was intended to stop nuclear proliferation and to prevent global catastrophe.
The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, signed originally in 1968 and renewed in perpetuity by most of the world's nations in 1995, was intended to stop nuclear proliferation and to prevent global catastrophe.
The five original nuclear weapons states flouted it for decades; in more recent times, the Treaty has been strained by the surreptitious attempts of countries such as Iran, Iraq and North Korea to obtain nuclear weapons, while non-signatory states India, Israel and Pakistan have become nuclear powers.
Although the NPT cannot hold sway over nuclear terrorists, it remains the key, international, counter-proliferation agreement. Article VII simply states: "Nothing in the Treaty affects the rights of any group of States to conclude regional treaties in order to assure the total absence of nuclear weapons in their respective territories."
In his farewell speech as President of the World Peace Council in 1965, Desmond Bernal warned against "the monolithic principle of obtaining unanimous decisions, policies and universal actions". It seems this caveat applies to the ideal of global nuclear disarmament, and that a regional approach might be more practicable. The disarmament of former Soviet states and dismantling of Soviet weapons through the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program is one example. The obvious place to try next is Western Europe, where France and the United Kingdom could set the world an example by negotiating a regional treaty.
The diplomatic and technical lessons learnt might be invaluable in future regional treaties in more unstable parts of the world where unilateral disarmament is unlikely. Concerted international pressure might result in the gradual, symmetrical reduction of weapons assembled for mutual deterrence.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments