The role of civil society in the nuclear non-proliferation regime
|
Introduction 3
Chapter I. What is civil society? Bringing conceptual clarity 8
1.1. The concept of civil society in international politics 8
1.2. Forms and principles of civil society interaction with state structures in international
politics 10
1.3. The structure of civil society in nuclear non-proliferation regime 12
1.3.1. The variety of organizational forms 13
1.3.2. The agenda and ideas 15
1.3.3. Territorial features 18
Chapter II. Evolution of civil society in the nuclear non-proliferation regime (1950 - our days) 19
2.1. 1950 - 1970s 19
2.2. 1970 - 1995s 22
2.3. 1995 - our days 31
Chapter III. Interaction of international entities with civil society (in 1995 - our days) 37
3.1. Civil society involvement in the nuclear non-proliferation regime 37
3.2. Interaction of civil society and official entities 42
3.3. Functions and tools of civil society interaction with the official entities and the public
(1995- till present days) 45
Conclusion 52
Bibliography 56
Abbreviations 65
Chapter I. What is civil society? Bringing conceptual clarity 8
1.1. The concept of civil society in international politics 8
1.2. Forms and principles of civil society interaction with state structures in international
politics 10
1.3. The structure of civil society in nuclear non-proliferation regime 12
1.3.1. The variety of organizational forms 13
1.3.2. The agenda and ideas 15
1.3.3. Territorial features 18
Chapter II. Evolution of civil society in the nuclear non-proliferation regime (1950 - our days) 19
2.1. 1950 - 1970s 19
2.2. 1970 - 1995s 22
2.3. 1995 - our days 31
Chapter III. Interaction of international entities with civil society (in 1995 - our days) 37
3.1. Civil society involvement in the nuclear non-proliferation regime 37
3.2. Interaction of civil society and official entities 42
3.3. Functions and tools of civil society interaction with the official entities and the public
(1995- till present days) 45
Conclusion 52
Bibliography 56
Abbreviations 65
The NPT1 2 entered into force in 1970. It launched the process of official control over nuclear weapons, included provisions on their non-proliferation and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The result of the conclusion of the Treaty should have been the end of the arms race and the elimination of nuclear weapons in the near future. But, after the conclusion of the treaty, the circle of countries possessing nuclear weapons expanded, and after 50 years of the treaty, nuclear weapons still exist.
Nevertheless, since the entry into force of the Treaty and, correspondingly, since the emergence of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, various efforts have been made to implement its principles and goals, other documents and agreements have appeared (for example, the CTBT2, the US-USSR/Russia bilateral nuclear arms control agreements), which contributed to it.
The nuclear non-proliferation regime includes various norms, principles, rules and procedures, and its sphere of influence extends to a huge range of subjects, from states to ordinary citizens. For decades, civil society has been an integral part of the political processes taking place in the world, including the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Within the regime, it performed various functions, was guided by various tools, and its role was not always so obvious and not always reflected in official documents and events of the regime. But they also contributed to the work of the regime for a long time.
Therefore, the goal of this study is to discover, how the increased activity of civil society has influenced the nuclear non-proliferation regime. To do this, it is necessary to perform the following tasks:
• to form an understanding of what civil society is in the nuclear non-proliferation regime. This means the main theoretical positions about the concept of civil society, its types, also goals, instruments and principles of its influence on the states and officials;
• to trace an evolution of civil society in the nuclear non-proliferation regime, to see, how exactly the activity of civil society has increased and how the declared goals of civil activists changed at different stages of the history;
• to examine the interaction of international entities with civil society, to see, how
representatives of civil society were perceived in the context of the regime and in what forms this interaction was revealed.
As mentioned above, the activity of civil society in the nuclear non-proliferation regime has been going on for decades. Therefore, the study timeline includes 3 periods. The first period from the 1950s to the 1970s - from the moment when humanity realized the destructive consequences of nuclear weapons; the second period from the 1970s to 1995 - since the entry into force of the NPT; from 1995 to the present day - from 1995 Review and Extension Conference, when the Treaty was extended indefinitely.
At the moment, there is a significant amount of publications devoted to civil society, since it’s involved in many spheres of life.3 There are works that deal only with theoretical issues4, the participation of civil society in global policy issues in general5, and civil society in general. There are also a lot of works on the nuclear non-proliferation regime.6 But there are not many works devoted to the interaction and mutual influence of civil society and the nuclear non-proliferation regime.
Also, the main problem of literature, related to this issue, is that usually in books or articles, the authors focus on particular countries7, regions8, or on specific civil society groups9 - pacifists, feminists, religious organizations, etc. There are works dedicated separately to the organizational structures of civil society - NGOs10, networks, campaigns, individuals promoting the ideas of nuclear non-proliferation.
There is also no unity in the approaches of researchers regarding periodization. All authors have different approaches 11, and they consider either other periods 12, or they don’t distinguish them at all 13....
Nevertheless, since the entry into force of the Treaty and, correspondingly, since the emergence of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, various efforts have been made to implement its principles and goals, other documents and agreements have appeared (for example, the CTBT2, the US-USSR/Russia bilateral nuclear arms control agreements), which contributed to it.
The nuclear non-proliferation regime includes various norms, principles, rules and procedures, and its sphere of influence extends to a huge range of subjects, from states to ordinary citizens. For decades, civil society has been an integral part of the political processes taking place in the world, including the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Within the regime, it performed various functions, was guided by various tools, and its role was not always so obvious and not always reflected in official documents and events of the regime. But they also contributed to the work of the regime for a long time.
Therefore, the goal of this study is to discover, how the increased activity of civil society has influenced the nuclear non-proliferation regime. To do this, it is necessary to perform the following tasks:
• to form an understanding of what civil society is in the nuclear non-proliferation regime. This means the main theoretical positions about the concept of civil society, its types, also goals, instruments and principles of its influence on the states and officials;
• to trace an evolution of civil society in the nuclear non-proliferation regime, to see, how exactly the activity of civil society has increased and how the declared goals of civil activists changed at different stages of the history;
• to examine the interaction of international entities with civil society, to see, how
representatives of civil society were perceived in the context of the regime and in what forms this interaction was revealed.
As mentioned above, the activity of civil society in the nuclear non-proliferation regime has been going on for decades. Therefore, the study timeline includes 3 periods. The first period from the 1950s to the 1970s - from the moment when humanity realized the destructive consequences of nuclear weapons; the second period from the 1970s to 1995 - since the entry into force of the NPT; from 1995 to the present day - from 1995 Review and Extension Conference, when the Treaty was extended indefinitely.
At the moment, there is a significant amount of publications devoted to civil society, since it’s involved in many spheres of life.3 There are works that deal only with theoretical issues4, the participation of civil society in global policy issues in general5, and civil society in general. There are also a lot of works on the nuclear non-proliferation regime.6 But there are not many works devoted to the interaction and mutual influence of civil society and the nuclear non-proliferation regime.
Also, the main problem of literature, related to this issue, is that usually in books or articles, the authors focus on particular countries7, regions8, or on specific civil society groups9 - pacifists, feminists, religious organizations, etc. There are works dedicated separately to the organizational structures of civil society - NGOs10, networks, campaigns, individuals promoting the ideas of nuclear non-proliferation.
There is also no unity in the approaches of researchers regarding periodization. All authors have different approaches 11, and they consider either other periods 12, or they don’t distinguish them at all 13....
The NPT entered into force more than 50 years ago. During this time, much has changed in politics and in the nuclear non-proliferation regime. New nuclear weapons have appeared, the range of countries possessing them has expanded, and to this day nuclear energy is used not only for peaceful purposes. Although the NPT set up the goal of complete elimination of nuclear weapons and called on states parties to stop the nuclear arms race, prevent nuclear proliferation and promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the provisions of the NPT have not been fully implemented. Questions were raised about the effectiveness of the Treaty itself and the nuclear non-proliferation regime in general. In this regard, there is a need to strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime and encourage states parties to the NPT to comply with its principles. This is what civil society has been doing.
During the study, three periods of civil society activity in the nuclear non-proliferation regime were considered, which cover the time from the 1950s to our days.
The first period lasted from 1950s to 1970s. Already since the 1950s we can talk about the civil society activity within the framework of the issues that nuclear non-proliferation regime covers, although the regime itself appeared only in the 1970s due to the NPT entering into force. During this period the strong core of civil society activity concentrated mainly in democratic European countries. The activity of civil society during this period and the ideas it promoted (nuclear disarmament, the prohibition of nuclear tests) - all this was later framed the provisions of the NPT. So, here we can see direct connection between civil society agenda and the issues that nuclear non-proliferation regime includes. This period is an important milestone in civil society activity in the nuclear non-proliferation regime due to the emergence of the public interest to nuclear issues and the beginning of the formation of the civil society agenda in the framework of the emerging nuclear non-proliferation regime.
The next period started in the 1970s and lasted up until 1995. Civil society activity expanded significantly and covered other regions, including the Eastern European region, North America and the Pacific region. During this period, civil society began to be more concerned about the use of nuclear energy, therefore, in addition to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, this issue was also included in its agenda. An important feature of this period is that civil society defined specific goals of its activity in the nuclear non-proliferation regime and introduced new tools and means of interaction with the public and authorities to achieve them.
The last period is from 1995 to our time. In 1995, the NPT was extended for indefinite period of time, which has become a milestone in the history of nuclear non-proliferation regime.
From 1995 it’s impossible to talk about one particular region, because civil society organizations have mostly the global character and many people around the world are involved in this activity through the Internet, so it’s hard to locate them. By the beginning of the 21st century, civil society has already established itself as a participant in the nuclear non-proliferation regime and it has been able to reach a new level of interaction with national and international official structures within the regime.
In the process of the research, the concept of civil society in the nuclear non-proliferation regime was formed. Civil society in the nuclear non-proliferation regime is the totality of citizens united to achieve a certain goal or interests in the framework of issues that nuclear nonproliferation regime covers, through interaction with authorities, by acting in various forms and using various tools, depending on the functions they perform.
Indeed, various civil society structures are involved in the nuclear non-proliferation regime. They are represented by various organizational forms - social movements, campaigns, networks, NGOs and analytical centers (think tanks). Among them are those whose activity is directly aimed at considering issues covered by the nuclear non-proliferation regime, i.e. nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy; and those, whose main goals are not directly related to the regime, but which have included these issues in their agenda. Among the latter were identified pacifist, feminist, youth, environmental, professional and religious movements. Also, the activity of civil society in the nuclear non-proliferation regime takes place in various regions of the globe. Civil society activity in the Western European region, the Eastern European region, North America and the Pacific region have been studied in this research.
Various examples of these structures were provided in this study. Among them were selected those, who started their activity a long time ago and its results are visible now; those, who gained a certain reputation among academicians, government officials, states; so, those who received certain recognition....
During the study, three periods of civil society activity in the nuclear non-proliferation regime were considered, which cover the time from the 1950s to our days.
The first period lasted from 1950s to 1970s. Already since the 1950s we can talk about the civil society activity within the framework of the issues that nuclear non-proliferation regime covers, although the regime itself appeared only in the 1970s due to the NPT entering into force. During this period the strong core of civil society activity concentrated mainly in democratic European countries. The activity of civil society during this period and the ideas it promoted (nuclear disarmament, the prohibition of nuclear tests) - all this was later framed the provisions of the NPT. So, here we can see direct connection between civil society agenda and the issues that nuclear non-proliferation regime includes. This period is an important milestone in civil society activity in the nuclear non-proliferation regime due to the emergence of the public interest to nuclear issues and the beginning of the formation of the civil society agenda in the framework of the emerging nuclear non-proliferation regime.
The next period started in the 1970s and lasted up until 1995. Civil society activity expanded significantly and covered other regions, including the Eastern European region, North America and the Pacific region. During this period, civil society began to be more concerned about the use of nuclear energy, therefore, in addition to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, this issue was also included in its agenda. An important feature of this period is that civil society defined specific goals of its activity in the nuclear non-proliferation regime and introduced new tools and means of interaction with the public and authorities to achieve them.
The last period is from 1995 to our time. In 1995, the NPT was extended for indefinite period of time, which has become a milestone in the history of nuclear non-proliferation regime.
From 1995 it’s impossible to talk about one particular region, because civil society organizations have mostly the global character and many people around the world are involved in this activity through the Internet, so it’s hard to locate them. By the beginning of the 21st century, civil society has already established itself as a participant in the nuclear non-proliferation regime and it has been able to reach a new level of interaction with national and international official structures within the regime.
In the process of the research, the concept of civil society in the nuclear non-proliferation regime was formed. Civil society in the nuclear non-proliferation regime is the totality of citizens united to achieve a certain goal or interests in the framework of issues that nuclear nonproliferation regime covers, through interaction with authorities, by acting in various forms and using various tools, depending on the functions they perform.
Indeed, various civil society structures are involved in the nuclear non-proliferation regime. They are represented by various organizational forms - social movements, campaigns, networks, NGOs and analytical centers (think tanks). Among them are those whose activity is directly aimed at considering issues covered by the nuclear non-proliferation regime, i.e. nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy; and those, whose main goals are not directly related to the regime, but which have included these issues in their agenda. Among the latter were identified pacifist, feminist, youth, environmental, professional and religious movements. Also, the activity of civil society in the nuclear non-proliferation regime takes place in various regions of the globe. Civil society activity in the Western European region, the Eastern European region, North America and the Pacific region have been studied in this research.
Various examples of these structures were provided in this study. Among them were selected those, who started their activity a long time ago and its results are visible now; those, who gained a certain reputation among academicians, government officials, states; so, those who received certain recognition....
