A Logic of the Inequality of the NPT and the TPNW: Order/Anarchy and Equality/Inequality

Abstract

This article aims to examine the relationship between the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

There have been serious disagreements over the relationship between the NPT and the TPNW in our international society. This has engendered a serious political divide between the non-nuclear weapon states, which support the TPNW, and the nuclear weapons states and non-nuclear weapons states under the nuclear umbrella, which oppose the treaty.

If we only examine the surface of this political division, we tend to overlook the history and logic of the NPT. Consequently, the relationship between the NPT and the TPNW may be misunderstood, and the political fragmentation may worsen. This article, therefore, will examine the relationship between the NPT and the TPNW from the perspective of the inequality under the NPT, which is the most important feature of the treaty.

First, we examine the purpose and nature of inequality of the NPT. Second, we attempt to extract the logic of the inequality of the NPT, using order/anarchy and equality/inequality as keywords. Third, this article confirms the objectives of the TPNW and its characteristics. Fourth, again using the above keywords, we demonstrate the logic of the inequality of the NPT and the TPNW, and identify the relationship between the NPT and the TPNW. Finally, we examine ways to resolve the political divide over the TPNW.