Global Outlook

The nuclear scenario today appears confusing. On one hand, the nuclear taboo has held, the NPT is a near universal treaty, and nuclear weapon stockpiles are a fourth of what they were at the height of the Cold War, and yet, on the other hand, there is a perception that nuclear risks are higher than before.

In the space of just over four months, the Ukraine war has turned into an exhausting global conflict that has already left the West feeling increasingly fatigued.

A ban is not an exercise in abstract morality, but involves questions of power, most importantly how people can amass discursive power to change the rules and operation of the international system to the extent that wars of aggression became “presumed against”.

In an era of social tension and conflict, building bridges to foster cohesion has become critical. As the classic song “Bridge Over Troubled Water” reminds us, we should not ignore the troubled waters under the bridges that we are building.

This is the text of a presentation made by Ambassador Nobuyasu Abe at a workshop hosted by Toda Peace Institute and Vienna Centre for Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, at VCDNP on Friday 24 June 2022.

This is the text of the address delivered by Ramesh Thakur at the launch of The Nuclear Ban Treaty: A Transformational Reframing of the Global Nuclear Order (Routledge, 2022) at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation on Friday, 24 June 2022.