The International Regime of Nuclear Non-Proliferation

The end of the Cold War and the disintegration of the Soviet Union has had an important effect upon two interrelated areas: nuclear proliferation and regional stability. In recent years, a series of changes have signaled an era of greater international cooperation in the control of weapons of mass destruction. A study of the growth and evolution of the norms of nuclear nonproliferation, an analysis of the very regime of nonproliferation, will show that it has both virtues and deficiencies; that whilst much has been achieved, there are still important challenges to be faced. One of these is the tendency to gain greater control over weapons of mass destruction through organizations with increasingly intrusive powers. The reach and validity enjoyed by the nonproliferation regime is dependent on the degree of acceptance that this tendency must gain in the future amongst the UN’S member States.fguerr