Haves, have-nots, and need-nots:
The nuclear ban exposes hidden fault lines
The lines of conflict between nuclear and non-nuclear powers are well-mapped. The dichotomy between the nuclear “haves” and the nuclear “have-nots” divides states into two mutually exclusive, opposed groups. This dichotomy is so pervasive in arms control discourse that it is even institutionalized within the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the keystone of the international nonproliferation regime: Each state’s needs and priorities are defined first by its possession or non-possession of nuclear weapons, with its rights and responsibilities then assigned accordingly. Obstacles in the path toward nonproliferation and disarmament are understood as expressions of a fundamental, tectonic balancing act between nuclear and non-nuclear powers.
Read on at the Monthly Review
