IS A WORLD WITHOUT NUCLEAR WEAPONS possible? Is it even desirable? A number of “abolitionist” movements, from the “Global Zero” initiative to ICAN (International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons), say yes and yes.
They propose that humanity should eliminate nuclear arms, those that draw on nuclear reactions to concentrate vast levels of violence into a single missile. So apocalyptic, immoral and wasteful are they, advocates of disarmament claim, that no one should deploy them in any capacity, even if their main purpose is to prevent wars by deterring others’ aggression via the threat of retaliatory punishment.
As well as moving towards elimination, abolitionists often advocate intermediate steps, including taking nukes off alert, establishing no first use agreements, and “sole purpose” declarations. But their ultimate goal is a phased, multilateral reduction to zero and the delegitimising of the very idea.
Today’s nuclear abolitionists can boast success, if success is measured by attention, acclaim and the agreement of non-nuclear states. Global Zero has U.S. national security grandees amongst its supporters, from George Schultz to Henry Kissinger. In 2017, ICAN won the Nobel Prize for Peace. It helped galvanise the signing of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. But getting nuclear powers to disarm has proven elusive.
