This report is co-authored by Alice Spilman, Dr Chiara Cervasio, Eva-Nour Repussard, and Mhairi McClafferty.
With rising nuclear threats and eroding global trust, responsibility-based approaches are becoming essential in shaping responses to security challenges. Increasing strategic competition and strained international relations are undermining established norms, complicating progress on non-proliferation and disarmament.
This primer examines how Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) and Non-Nuclear Weapon States (NNWS) have used the language of responsibility in the context of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Drawing on statements from NPT Review Conferences and Preparatory Committees (2000 – 2023), it identifies four key uses of the term: i) responsibility as cause or blame; ii) defining obligations; iii) claiming or dismissing identity as a “responsible: state; and iv) describing specific behaviours. By analysing these patterns, the primer offers insights into the evolving discourse on nuclear responsibilities, aiming to foster shared norms and collaborative efforts for risk reduction, and highlighting opportunities to advance responsibility-based approaches in the current NPT review cycle.
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