Description
The global nuclear order and its core, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), have long been considered a polarised normative framework. However, this polarisation has increased in recent years, reflected in a growing incompatibility of political and normative views and a marginalisation of intermediate positions. This is particularly evident in discussions on nuclear disarmament: While a large number of states negotiated the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of the Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) to accelerate nuclear disarmament, nuclear-weapon states are moving ahead with nuclear modernization and departing from past disarmament commitments.
This article argues that the polarisation within the nuclear nonproliferation regime is closely related to increasing contestation of its fundamental norms. This radicalisation of contestation contributes to a divergence of already antagonistic positions, mostly along established group lines. Against this backdrop, the article focuses on how polarisation has been facilitated by group dynamics within the nonproliferation regime. In particular, the article addresses how contentious interactions between groups have led to a decline in social cohesion in the nonproliferation regime and thus provided a breeding ground for polarisation.
