Debating the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty: Regional Perspectives

With its 50th ratification, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW / Ban Treaty) is soon set to become legally binding. It is a contentious treaty, drafted by a group of 124 non-nuclear-weapon countries in 2017. Since its genesis, it has been boycotted by over 50 states, including all current atomic powers.

Its supporters argue that it brings a new perspective to disarmament negotiations, as well as a binding norm that fills a legal gap which has allowed the continued existence of atomic bombs. Its critics, on the contrary, argue that the treaty is too ambiguous and that it does not create any instruments to ensure effective, verifiable, and permanent atomic disarmament.

This GIGA event, taking place as part of Research Programme 4 on Global Orders and Foreign Policy, will bring together scholars from different regions of the world to discuss the both local and global implications of a binding Ban Treaty. The event embraces perspectives from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and South Asia. Participants will also discuss the consequences of the Ban Treaty for the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime.

Panelists:

Prof. Dr. Harsh Pant is Professor of International Relations with King’s India Institute. He is Head of the Strategic Studies Programme at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi, India, and Director (Honorary) of Delhi School of Transnational Affairs at Delhi University.

Prof. Dr. Jo-Ansie van Wyk is Professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of South Africa (Unisa), Pretoria, South Africa.

Dr. Oliver Meier is Senior Researcher at the Berlin office of the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH), Germany. Previously, he was Deputy Head of the International Security Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).

Prof. Dr. Maria Rost Rublee is Associate Professor of International Relations at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, and Chair of the Diversity Task Force of the International Security Studies Section (ISSS) of the International Studies Association (ISA).

Prof. Dr. Monica Herz is Associate Professor at the Institute of International Relations at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Moderator:

Leonardo Bandarra is a Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies and member of Research Programme 4.