The nuclear arms race in the twenty-first century hinders progress towards disarmament and greatly increases the risk of nuclear catastrophe. Nuclear disarmament is a global issue that is necessary not only to reduce the risk of war but also to strengthen world peace and security, and to prevent the waste of human and material resources. Through a comparative analysis of the experiences of nuclear-weapon states, this study identifies the behavioral factors underlying the retention of nuclear weapons as well as the challenges and opportunities faced by international treaties. I will do so while reviewing nations' declarations, social and economic factors, including deteriorating US-Russian relations. The thesis proposes a hypothesis that nuclear disarmament can be effectively implemented through the legal framework of binding commitments facilitating a culture of peace, universal ratification of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the non-proliferation regime with appropriate verification mechanism. The other pillars which work toward disarmament include: reduction of nuclear stockpiles; active diplomatic efforts toward the establishment of new nuclear-weapon-free zones; and the prevention of new nuclear states. The research finds that significant opportunities exist within the growing role of the UN in fulfilling one of its oldest goals to eliminate nuclear weapons through the lens of civil society engagement and multilateralism.
","abstract_html":"<p>The nuclear arms race in the twenty-first century hinders progress towards disarmament and greatly increases the risk of nuclear catastrophe. Nuclear disarmament is a global issue that is necessary not only to reduce the risk of war but also to strengthen world peace and security, and to prevent the waste of human and material resources. Through a comparative analysis of the experiences of nuclear-weapon states, this study identifies the behavioral factors underlying the retention of nuclear weapons as well as the challenges and opportunities faced by international treaties. I will do so while reviewing nations' declarations, social and economic factors, including deteriorating US-Russian relations. The thesis proposes a hypothesis that nuclear disarmament can be effectively implemented through the legal framework of binding commitments facilitating a culture of peace, universal ratification of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the non-proliferation regime with appropriate verification mechanism. The other pillars which work toward disarmament include: reduction of nuclear stockpiles; active diplomatic efforts toward the establishment of new nuclear-weapon-free zones; and the prevention of new nuclear states. The research finds that significant opportunities exist within the growing role of the UN in fulfilling one of its oldest goals to eliminate nuclear weapons through the lens of civil society engagement and multilateralism.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Zhetenova, Madina"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of International Affairs (M.I.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"International Relations","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Prof. Bruce Cronin","Prof. Jean Krasno"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:57:59Z","subjects":["nuclear disarmament","nuclear weapons","nuclear war","International Relations"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1096","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Prof. Bruce Cronin","Prof. Jean Krasno"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Zhetenova, Madina"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-05-11T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["International Relations"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of International Affairs (M.I.A.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["nuclear disarmament","nuclear weapons","nuclear war","International Relations"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1096"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The nuclear arms race in the twenty-first century hinders progress towards disarmament and greatly increases the risk of nuclear catastrophe. Nuclear disarmament is a global issue that is necessary not only to reduce the risk of war but also to strengthen world peace and security, and to prevent the waste of human and material resources. Through a comparative analysis of the experiences of nuclear-weapon states, this study identifies the behavioral factors underlying the retention of nuclear weapons as well as the challenges and opportunities faced by international treaties. I will do so while reviewing nations' declarations, social and economic factors, including deteriorating US-Russian relations. The thesis proposes a hypothesis that nuclear disarmament can be effectively implemented through the legal framework of binding commitments facilitating a culture of peace, universal ratification of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the non-proliferation regime with appropriate verification mechanism. The other pillars which work toward disarmament include: reduction of nuclear stockpiles; active diplomatic efforts toward the establishment of new nuclear-weapon-free zones; and the prevention of new nuclear states. The research finds that significant opportunities exist within the growing role of the UN in fulfilling one of its oldest goals to eliminate nuclear weapons through the lens of civil society engagement and multilateralism.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Pillars for Nuclear-Weapon States to Make Material Progress on Nuclear Disarmament"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Prof. Bruce Cronin","Prof. Jean Krasno"],"dc:creator":["Zhetenova, Madina"],"dc:date.available":["2023-05-11T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The nuclear arms race in the twenty-first century hinders progress towards disarmament and greatly increases the risk of nuclear catastrophe. Nuclear disarmament is a global issue that is necessary not only to reduce the risk of war but also to strengthen world peace and security, and to prevent the waste of human and material resources. Through a comparative analysis of the experiences of nuclear-weapon states, this study identifies the behavioral factors underlying the retention of nuclear weapons as well as the challenges and opportunities faced by international treaties. I will do so while reviewing nations' declarations, social and economic factors, including deteriorating US-Russian relations. The thesis proposes a hypothesis that nuclear disarmament can be effectively implemented through the legal framework of binding commitments facilitating a culture of peace, universal ratification of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the non-proliferation regime with appropriate verification mechanism. The other pillars which work toward disarmament include: reduction of nuclear stockpiles; active diplomatic efforts toward the establishment of new nuclear-weapon-free zones; and the prevention of new nuclear states. The research finds that significant opportunities exist within the growing role of the UN in fulfilling one of its oldest goals to eliminate nuclear weapons through the lens of civil society engagement and multilateralism.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1096"],"dc:subject":["nuclear disarmament","nuclear weapons","nuclear war","International Relations"],"dc:title":["Pillars for Nuclear-Weapon States to Make Material Progress on Nuclear Disarmament"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["International Relations"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of International Affairs (M.I.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:57:59Z"}