From the International Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime to the Global Zero Regime: An Introduction

This supplementary issue of the Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament reassesses the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime at a time of profound geopolitical transformation. While the Cold War and its aftermath saw significant progress—anchored in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and U.S.–Russian arms control—recent decades have witnessed the gradual erosion of these frameworks amid intensifying rivalry, stagnating disarmament, and weakening legal arrangements. Against this backdrop, the issue examines both the enduring significance and structural limitations of the NPT, alongside the evolving role of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which has introduced new normative dynamics while deepening divisions among states. Contributions address key themes, including tensions between law and power, the prospects and constraints of the NPT review process, and the fundamentally political nature of arms control.The issue also explores emerging challenges in verification, enforcement, and institutional design in a potential nuclear-zero regime. It emphasizes the need for adaptive governance, sustained political commitment, and a reconceptualization of security that integrates national, human, and ecological dimensions, while reaffirming human dignity and ethical principles as essential to achieving nuclear abolition.