A Nuclear Nonproliferation Strategy for the 21st Century

For more than five decades, the world has sought to control the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their component materials and technology by relying on international legal norms, international institutions and other global tools. This nonproliferation regime, with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) at its core, has been a triumph of carefully crafted global cooperation; predictions made in the 1960s of a world with dozens of states armed with weapons of mass destruction never materialized.

But now the regime is beginning to show its age. The global consensus over how to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons is in danger of unraveling. There is a rising chorus of discontent over the fairness and the wisdom of the so-called NPT “grand bargain,” the fundamental agreement between nuclear and non-nuclear states to manage the spread of nuclear weapons and technologies. The materials and expertise needed to build deadly nuclear, chemical and biological weapons are spread across the globe and there is growing pessimism about stopping this trend.

And the regime was never designed to deal with the challenge posed by non-state actors. The progressive leaders from the United States and Europe who have come together to form “Building Global Alliances for the 21st Century” believe that there is an immediate need for a comprehensive, concrete effort to revitalize the world’s nonproliferation efforts.1 As the leaders of the G8 gather for their annual summit, we urge a greater international focus on – and a stronger commitment to – addressing nuclear proliferation. We are deeply concerned that the rhetoric of international leaders about the spread of nuclear weapons and materials has not been matched by enough concrete action. Here we present a blueprint for action, based on our cumulative experience in national security, diplomacy and international politics.