THE FORMATION OF THE NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON INTERNATIONAL REGIME THEORIES
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2022
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Abstract
This study examines the factors affecting the emergence of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which is the main mechanism of the international regime formed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, through the basic assumptions of the regime theories. This study addresses the following question: What factors were at play when the NPT was formed? This study’s research method is testing theoretical assumptions with a case study. Within this framework, the regime theories used in this study concern especially why states cooperate over a specific issue. Factors affecting the formation and persistence of regimes are examined through three different approaches in the regime theories: power-based, cognitive-based, and interest-based approaches. The NPT seems to have a two-tier structure. Still, all actors that become a party to the treaty benefit from this cooperation. In this context, this study argues that the assumptions of interest-based approaches about the emergence of the NPT are more explanatory than others.