The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is one of the success stories of arms control. That may sound surprising. As the treaty’s 187 members start their five-yearly meeting in New York this week, the talk is mostly of where it has failed. True, since the NPT came into force in 1970, Israel, India and Pakistan – none of them signatories – have acquired nuclear weapons. In 2003 North Korea simply walked out, and it is now believed to have half a dozen warheads. Yet apart from these setbacks, the treaty has kept the world relatively nuclear-free.
Today, however, the NPT is looking shaky.…
