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Education and Research on Global Disarmament Policy

The Unkept Promise of Nuclear Disarmament

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The following reflection is from Macy Hayes, a Pace University undergraduate who participated in the POL297L Global Politics of Disarmament and Arms Control class in Fall 2024. Students had the opportunity to engage in civic engagement assignments with disarmament advocacy efforts in the context of the UN General Assembly First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) meetings in New York City.

What is a weapon? In my first twenty minutes of Global Politics of Disarmament and Arms Control, I discovered that the word has a denser definition than most would think. While everything can be used as a weapon, does its use make it one? Or is a weapon something that is created with the intention of causing harm to someone, something, or someplace? This was one of many equally philosophical questions posed throughout the course of this class.

We debated the reasons why some people feel the need to arm themselves and why others feel an obligation to take action against weapons of all types. Everything we discussed was important to know and essential to hear, but it didn’t make it any less daunting. The lack of education about nuclear and autonomous weapons is frightening. My understanding of this issue only grew the more I learned.

One thing that stood out to me was the promise made by the nuclear weapons states to non-nuclear states in the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) that they would work together to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and pursue nuclear disarmament. Major signatories, including the United States and the Soviet Union, both led in the number of nuclear weapons.

Since the Cold War there has been little meaningful progress toward nuclear disarmament. Nuclear weapons have morphed into a form of currency. The early stages of proliferation were driven by Cold War arms races between the Soviet Union and China, and they have now turned into an imperial longing for “world power” status.

This need to be number one reminds me of our discussion on people who feel the need to arm themselves. For individuals, they feel a sense of security and safety having weapons. There are psychological justifications for owning arms, like fear or strength. Those motivations are similar to the ones of the nuclear-owning states. They justify their existence, keeping their nuclear weapons due to the assumption that others might do something with theirs, creating a false sense of security and assuming no one will make the first move.

All these controversies, unkept promises, and unjustifiable arguments sparked my interest in joining the fight against nuclear and autonomous weapons. This fight can be fought in many ways locally, nationally, and internationally. To do my part, I will keep the conversation alive, help spread awareness, improve disarmament education among young individuals, and work within my local communities.

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