Description
Despite opposition from the nuclear powers, disarmament proponents, under the banner of the humanitarian initiative, successfully influenced the adoption of The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The humanitarian initiative is considered a turning point in nuclear politics, where debates shifted away from strategic goals and focused on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons. This paper investigates the role of emotions, represented in discourses and images of the humanitarian initiative, in facilitating the emergence of the new treaty. The study is grounded in the constructivist tradition but seeks to push existing understandings further. Drawing on the literature that focuses on emotions and norm dynamics, the study argues that emotions constituted robust contestatory frames to perceptions of fear that sustain nuclear weapons’ appropriateness. The paper adds to existing understandings about new norm generation, engaging with the process of norm contestation and introducing emotions as a powerful norm making strategy. It also contributes to the growing body of work investigating the emergence of the TPNW, shedding light on dynamics beyond traditional IR thinking.