Addressing Humanity’s failure to establish Existential Security

This paper defines and develops an existential security approach to nuclear politics. Its findings suggest humanity suffers an emergency condition by the objective existential threat of nuclear war. The Liberal International Order has not addressed this existential (in)security, prioritising liberal internationalism and the maintenance of the nuclear order. Current prospects of a severe NATO-Russia war, a Sino-American conflict or an uncontained iteration of either, could warp into a systemic war leading to mutual extermination, fatally unravelling the legitimacy of the US-led world order, its reliance on national security, collective defence, and deterrence practice. If existential security is imperilled by the risk of nuclear war – explicitly – why does the recognition of this threat not warrant a re-ordering of the LIO? The dangerous routine of nuclearism provides states with ontological security internationally, which undermines the liberal or decent self-identity, domestically. A reordering of the international system offers one escape from these contradictions. This would involve a restoration of great power relations in a ‘common security’ arrangement.