Reviewing NATO’s Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Policy

The global nuclear order1 is under growing strain. We are witnessing resistance to extending the life of existing arms control tools, updating old instruments or negotiating new ones. States violate agreements. The pace of nuclear disarmament increasingly frustrates the international community.2 Nuclear-weapon states are modernising their nuclear arsenals, prolonging their lives far into the future. While the geographical proliferation of nuclear weapons remains limited, the technology capable of delivering them is spreading. The nuclear–conventional distinction between weapon systems is blurring. States acknowledge new warfighting domains like the cyber realm and space, but regulation of behaviour within these domains remains limited. Rapidly emerging new technologies have the potential to destabilise the conduct of military and strategic affairs, including nuclear policy and decision-making.
The nuclear policy of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has consequently acquired greater centrality in furthering non-proliferation and disarmament in the more unpredictable world.