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The Non-Proliferation Regime and the NPT

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Abstract

This chapter begins with an explanation of the relevant international regimes and the factors that comprise the nonproliferation regime in particular. This is followed by an in-depth introduction to applicable treaties and the nonproliferation regime’s centrepiece: the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). This section includes a discussion of the NPT’s purpose, its historical context, and the content of each treaty article. Compliance and non-compliance with the NPT are delved into as well as an overview of the recognised vulnerabilities of the NPT as international law. The chapter concludes that the nonproliferation regime is the convergence of expectations based on shared principles and rules and the relevant treaties have an impact on State behaviour.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (July 1, 1968) 729 UNTS 161.

  2. 2.

    Evans and Newnham 1998, p. 471.

  3. 3.

    Sidhu 2008, p. 412.

  4. 4.

    Shaw 2008, p. 93.

  5. 5.

    For an in-depth review of the NPT, see: Daniel H. Joyner, International Law and the Prohibition of Weapons of Mass Destruction (OUP 2009), pp. 3–76; 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Final Document (NPT/CONF, 2010/50), pp. 2–19.

  6. 6.

    Krasner 1982, p. 186.

  7. 7.

    Evans and Newnham, p. 471.

  8. 8.

    Brzoska 1992, p. 217.

  9. 9.

    Nye 1981.

  10. 10.

    Nuclear Threat Initiative, ‘NPT Membership’, http://www.nti.org/media/pdfs/apmnpt.pdf?_=1316545627&_=1316545627.

  11. 11.

    International Atomic Energy Agency, 'Member States of the IAEA', http://www.iaea.org/About/Policy/MemberStates/.

  12. 12.

    Center for Nonproliferation Studies, ‘NPT Membership’, Nuclear Threat Initiative, http://www.nti.org/e_research/official_docs/inventory/pdfs/apmnpt.pdf.

  13. 13.

    International Atomic Energy Agency, ‘About the IAEA’.

  14. 14.

    Nobel Foundation, ‘The Nobel Peace Prize 2005’.

  15. 15.

    Encyclopedia Britannica, ‘Nongovernmental Organization’.

  16. 16.

    Haas 1992, p. 3.

  17. 17.

    Ibid., p. 3.

  18. 18.

    Ibid., p. 4.

  19. 19.

    Shaw 2008, p. 97.

  20. 20.

    Article I NPT.

  21. 21.

    Article II NPT.

  22. 22.

    Shaw, 6.

  23. 23.

    Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties—VCLT— (23 May 1969) 1155 UNTS 331.

  24. 24.

    Article 2 VCLT.

  25. 25.

    Article 26 VCLT.

  26. 26.

    Article 52 VCLT.

  27. 27.

    NPT, Preamble.

  28. 28.

    Simpson et al. 2010, Part I-4.

  29. 29.

    Ibid.

  30. 30.

    Ibid.

  31. 31.

    World Nuclear Association, ‘The Nuclear Fuel Cycle,’ http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf03.html.

  32. 32.

    Simpson et al. 2010, ibid.

  33. 33.

    Shaw 2008, p. 95.

  34. 34.

    Simmons 2009, p. 116.

  35. 35.

    Ibid., p. 117.

  36. 36.

    Baruch 1946.

  37. 37.

    International Atomic Energy Agency, Division of Public Information, ‘Revisiting the Nuclear Fuel Cycle’, http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/fuelcycle/key_events.shtml.

  38. 38.

    Eisenhower 1953.

  39. 39.

    Simmons 2009, p. 261.

  40. 40.

    Burns 1965, p. 857.

  41. 41.

    Simpson et al. 2010, Part I-5.

  42. 42.

    Nuclear Threat Initiative, ‘NPT Tutorial’, http://www.nti.org/h_learnmore/npttutorial/chapter03_04.html.

  43. 43.

    Simpson et al. 2010, Part I-3.

  44. 44.

    Article IX NPT.

  45. 45.

    Government of Canada, ‘The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty’, http://www.international.gc.ca/arms-armes/nuclear-nucleaire/npt-tnp.aspx.

  46. 46.

    Müller 2005, p. 41.

  47. 47.

    International Atomic Energy Agency, ‘IAEA Safeguards Glossary’, in International Nuclear Verification Series (Vienna: International Atomic Energy Agency, 2002), p. 7.

  48. 48.

    Ibid., 8.

  49. 49.

    International Atomic Energy Agency, ‘Structure and Content of Agreements between the Agency and States Required in Connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons’, in Informational Circular 153 (Corrected) (1972).

  50. 50.

    Arms Control Association, ‘Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZ) at a Glance’, http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/nwfz.

  51. 51.

    United Nations, ‘UN Study on Effective and Verifiable Measures Which Would Facilitate the Establishment of Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in the Middle East’, ed. Department for Disarmament Affairs (New York, NY: United Nations 1991).

  52. 52.

    Nuclear Threat Initiative, ‘NWFZ Tutorial’, http://www.nti.org/h_learnmore/nwfztutorial/.

  53. 53.

    Singh 1998, at 50.

  54. 54.

    International Atomic Energy Agency, ‘IAEA & DPRK’, http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/iaeadprk/fact_sheet_may2003.shtml.

  55. 55.

    United Nations, ‘Extension of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons’, in Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (New York, NY: United Nations 1995).

  56. 56.

    Reed and Stillman 2009, p. 145.

  57. 57.

    Axelrod 1984.

  58. 58.

    Merriam-Webster, ‘Compliance’, Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compliance.

  59. 59.

    International Atomic Energy Agency, ‘Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Syrian Arab Republic: Resolution Adopted by the Board of Governors on 9 June 2011’, in GOV/2011/41, 2011.

  60. 60.

    Fischer 1997, p. 21.

  61. 61.

    Schulte 2010.

  62. 62.

    Goldschmidt 2010.

  63. 63.

    International Atomic Energy Agency, ‘IAEA Board of Governors’, http://iaea.org/About/Policy/Board/.

  64. 64.

    Jenkins 2010.

  65. 65.

    Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA Statute), last amended 1999, http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/treaties/atomic-energy-act/trty_atomic-energy-statute.htm.

  66. 66.

    Article III NPT.

  67. 67.

    International Atomic Energy Agency, ‘Status List,’ http://www.iaea.org/OurWork/SV/Safeguards/documents/sir_table.pdf.

  68. 68.

    IAEA Statute.

  69. 69.

    Article VI NPT.

  70. 70.

    Nye 1985.

  71. 71.

    Albright 2010, p. 245.

  72. 72.

    Frantz and Collins, pp. 309–310.

  73. 73.

    Sidhu 2012, p. 425.

  74. 74.

    Sidhu 2012, p. 410.

  75. 75.

    Salama and Hansell 2005.

  76. 76.

    Albright 2010, p. 181.

  77. 77.

    Security Council Resolution 1540 (April 28, 2004).

  78. 78.

    United Nations, ‘1540 Committee’, http://www.un.org/sc/1540/.

  79. 79.

    International Atomic Energy Agency, ‘Status List’.

  80. 80.

    Ibid.

  81. 81.

    International Atomic Energy Agency, ‘The Agency’s Safeguards System’, in Informational Circular 66 Rev.2 (1968).

  82. 82.

    Boureston and Ferguson 2005.

  83. 83.

    Bunn 2004.

  84. 84.

    International Atomic Energy Agency, ‘The Agency’s Safeguards System’.

  85. 85.

    Article IX (3) NPT.

  86. 86.

    Sidhu 2012, p. 410.

  87. 87.

    Kennedy, John F, ‘Commencement Address at American University, June 10, 1963’, paper presented at the American University Spring Commencement, Washington, DC, 1963.

  88. 88.

    Simmons 2009, p. 130.

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Correspondence to Kimberly Gilligan .

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Gilligan, K. (2014). The Non-Proliferation Regime and the NPT. In: Black-Branch, J., Fleck, D. (eds) Nuclear Non-Proliferation in International Law - Volume I. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-020-6_4

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