Description
Despite defending nuclear possession and deterrence, the nuclear powers continue to reassure the international community that disarmament is their utmost goal, always highlighting their commitment to Article VI. While this scenario reflects social expectations rooted in the NPT, it must not be taken for granted. Drawing on the work of Maja Zehfuss and Kimberly Hutchings, I argue that the disarmament discourse renders nuclear possession more acceptable, upholding the nuclear status quo. The article sheds light on how the NPT provides nuclear states with the norms that can be used to produce less violent and more responsible possessors, revealing a story in which the normative standards that are supposed to help eliminate nuclear weapons turn out to be our biggest challenge. It makes an important contribution to the literature which interrogates the nuclear status quo, drawing attention to some of the obstacles preventing us from moving forward with nuclear disarmament.
