Knocking the NPT: India’s Nuclear Weapons Program and Problems with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Abstract

This paper examines the weaknesses of the cornerstone of the international non-proliferation regime: the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Using India as a case study of one state that has not found it in their best interests to become a signatory member, while simultaneously becoming a nuclear power, three main weaknesses are identified. Firstly, the inability of the NPT to address the prestige concerns of states without nuclear weapons; second, its inability to address the security concerns of these same states; third, the difficulties in enforcing and policing its demands.