To What Extent Is Nuclear Sharing a Violation of the NPT? - Research Paper

Introduction

The treaty of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, i.e. the NPT is a treaty that was aimed at curbing the use of nuclear weapons globally. Instead, the agreement advocated for the correct use of nuclear energy for other constructive activities such as the provision of nuclear power rather than the manufacture of nuclear weapons (Sechser, 2016). Coming up in the year 1968, up to eighteen nations were involved in the disarmament of any countries that were in the process of the manufacture of utilization of any forms of nuclear-powered weapons. The conference was held at Geneva in Switzerland.

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Research Methodology and Plan of Work

The research methodology utilized in this case was information sourcing from acknowledged secondary sources i.e. books, journal and online research platforms that have been credited to possess credible information. With the ongoing school work, there was limited tome to conduct the research and therefore one had to come up with a well-fitting time plan. Most of the research work was conducted in the library after class sessions. Upon gathering relevant information and noting it down, it was then possible to come up with a well-defined research proposal regarding the NPT case.

The NPT Treaty: Case Background

The treaty got tabled in the year 1968, and in the year 1970 came into effect as law governing the manufacture and utilization of nuclear weapons (Wan, 2018). In the year 1995, more nations involved in the implementation of the treaty convened and agreed that the terms of the agreement be extended up to an indefinite time to help curb the harmful use of nuclear power (Ritchie, 2017). According to the treaty, a state could get defined as a nuclear country if they had constructed and tested any nuclear weapons before the year 1967. These nations include; China, the united states, the United Kingdom, Russia and France (Bowen et al. 2018). Besides the above five nuclear nations, other countries believed to have nuclear weapons include; Israel, Pakistan, India, and North Korea. On a different note, South Sudan founded in the year 2011is also not a member nation of the NPT treaty. The significance of the settlement could get attested by the fact that this is the most observed disarmament treaty that has ever been implemented (McCrisken & Downman, 2019).

However, it is not correct to assume that all member and non-member states that were involved in the making and implementation of the treaty have observed the rules and regulations instituted (Fitzpatrick, 2017). For instance, North Korea joined the NPT in the year 1985 but failed to observe the terms and conditions stipulated in the treaty. In the year 2003, the nation of North Korea announced their withdrawal from the NPT after the explosion of nuclear weapons an act that violated one of the core rules and regulations of the treaty's agreements (Korda, 2018).

Research Questions

What Is the Core Operational Principle of the NPT?

The non-proliferation treaty agreement is based on one central notion, i.e. "the NPT non-nuclear-weapon states agree never to acquire nuclear weapons and the NPT nuclear-weapon states in exchange agree to share the benefits of peaceful nuclear technology and to pursue nuclear disarmament aimed at the ultimate elimination of their nuclear arsenals" ("Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons", 2019). During the formation of the treaty, it was agreed upon that a review was to be conducted after every five years, and any arising issues would be addressed during this period.

Has the Treaty Realized Its Major Objectives of Formation?

The treaty has been instrumental in the management of nuclear weapons in that, at the time of the inception, it was projected that in a duration of about twenty years, there would be close to thirty more nations in possession of nuclear weaponry a condition that could be a major threat to the peaceful and cohesive existence globally (Kaufman, 2018). Looking back since the inception of the treaty, only about five nations are not party members to the agreement with some of which being newly formed member states.

Has There Been Cases of Violation of the Operational Protocols of the NPT?

When we speak of the violation of the NPT, the first thing that comes to mind is Nato. According to the NPT agreement, no nation other than the ones that went Nuclear before 1974 have the right to develop Nuclear-weapons in perpetuity (Yogiswara, 2019). The Nuclear weapon states are obligated to prevent any Nuclear-related commerce with the Non-Nuclear weapon states with the exception of India since a specific India related safeguards have been put in place post Indo-us civil N agreement 2005 (Yogiswara, 2019). Hence NATO nuclear sharing is certainly a violation of the NPT (Yogiswara, 2019). Other accusations of breach of the treaty were brought forward by Russia who claimed that the US and other NATO allied nations had breached the agreement via various nuclear energy and technology sharing agreements that were in direct breach of the treaty (Mallard, 2018). However, these claims have been refuted by the US government citing that, the NPT got crafted by the USSR and the US in close connection upon which the NATO nations agreed to ensure that non-nuclear countries were not in a position to access nuclear technology and that the obligations of the NATO community were in compliance with the treaty's obligations (Fuhrmann, & Lupu, 2016).

Rationale for Operation of the NPT

To curb the spread in the manufacture of nuclear weapons, various stringent measures have been instituted in place to control the spread of this hazardous material. For instance, several additional measures have been adopted to strengthen the NPT and the broader nuclear nonproliferation regime and make it difficult for states to acquire the capability to produce atomic weapons, including the export controls of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the enhanced verification measures of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Additional Protocol ("Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons", 2019).Summary

Any form of nuclear sharing is a direct violation of the NPT treaty unless it is for the reasons agreed upon in the treaty. The NPT was implemented in place to help control the use of nuclear weapons after the devastating effects of these weapons got observed in the year 1945 during the US bombing of Japan. It is, therefore, necessary that every nation adheres to the rules and regulations stipulated by the treaty to ensure that there is the prosperity of peaceful interactions between the member nations and even those that are not party to the agreement. Stern measures should be taken against any country found to violate any of the above rules and regulations have given that this would be a threat to world peace as well as harmonious interactions between various nations. The non-proliferation agreement has in a substantial way contributed towards the achievement of an almost nuclear weaponry free world and should, therefore, be upheld by both member and non-member states in the interest of global peace.

Key Points

The NPT came into full operation on the 1st, January 1970

The treaty was aimed at curbing the spread of the use and manufacture of nuclear weapons

During the enactment of the treaty into law there were only five nuclear nations i.e. China, the united states, the United Kingdom, Russia and France.

Other countries believed to have nuclear weapons include; Israel, Pakistan, India, and North Korea.

According to the NPT agreement, no nation other than the ones that went Nuclear before 1974 have the right to develop Nuclear-weapons

Any form of nuclear sharing is a direct violation of the NPT treaty unless it is for the reasons agreed upon in the treaty.

Stern measures should be taken against any country found to violate any of the above rules and regulations have given that this would be a threat to world peace as well as harmonious interactions between various nations.

The non-proliferation agreement has in a substantial way contributed towards the achievement of an almost nuclear weaponry free world

References

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. (2019). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_on_the_Non-Proliferation_of_Nuclear_Weapons

Yogiswara, P. (2019). Is NATO's nuclear sharing a violation of the NPT? - Quora. Retrieved from https://www.quora.com/Is-NATOs-nuclear-sharing-a-violation-of-the-NPT

Bell, R. (2018). THE CHALLENGES OF NATO NUCLEAR POLICY.

Sechser, T. S. (2016). Sharing the bomb: how different nuclear deployments shape nonproliferation and deterrence. The Nonproliferation Review, 23(3-4), 443-458.

Ritchie, N. E. (2017). The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: delegitimizing unacceptable weapons.

Fuhrmann, M., & Lupu, Y. (2016). Do arms control treaties work? Assessing the effectiveness of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. International Studies Quarterly, 60(3), 530-539.

Kaufman, S. (2018). Project Plowshare versus the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty. Diplomacy & Statecraft, 29(1), 74-93.

Korda, M. (2018). The only choice is both choices: balancing assurance and coercion in nonproliferation-focused alliance-management strategies. The Nonproliferation Review, 25(3-4), 263-284.

Mallard, G. (2018). Antagonistic recursivities and successive coverups: the case of private nuclear proliferation. The British journal of sociology, 69(4), 1007-1030.

Bowen, W. Q., Elbahtimy, H., Hobbs, C. L., & Moran, M. (2018). Trust in Nuclear Disarmament Verification. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

McCrisken, T., & Downman, M. (2019). 'Peace through strength': Europe and NATO deterrence beyond the US Nuclear Posture Review. International Affairs.

Wan, W. (2018). Regional Pathways to Nuclear Nonproliferation. University of Georgia Press.

Fitzpatrick, M. (2017). Asia's latent nuclear powers: Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Routledge.