Workshop: Why Norms Matter

One frequently heard criticism of the TPNW is that it fails to account for the fact that some countries are more likely to give up nuclear weapons than others, and that this could lead to dangerous asymmetries in geopolitical power relations. More specifically, it is argued that liberal democracies will be more susceptible to pressure—from civil society, media, or other voices of reason—than autocratic regimes, which in turn could trigger a unilateral decision to step away from the brink and get rid of nuclear weapons. Great! Or maybe not? 

In this session, we aim to unpack some of these arguments, with a view to crafting better and more convincing responses. We’ll put our heads together and dive into the underlying concepts and perceptions, and with YOUR help, we might just come up with something useful. Great!

 

Speakers:

Torbjørn Graff Hugo

 

Torbjørn Graff Hugo is a policy advisor on multilateral processes and global advocacy at NAIL.