Arms Control: Between the NPT and the Nuclear Taboo?

Chapter 13 by Mirko Sossai chooses a legal perspective to examine the development of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear non-use norms, which protect the fundamental values of international peace and security. Sossai identifies several intertwined drivers of change in the NPT regime, most notably the tension between national interests and community values inherent in the regime. He illustrates how the non-implementation of disarmament obligations has led to a forum shift from the NPT regime to the General Assembly. Moreover, by promoting the value of humanity, he notes that the recently concluded Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons intensified the value orientation of the nuclear weapons regime. Thus, he finds indications for a value shift in that the priority accorded to specific values is shifting in the case of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear non-use norms.