ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the non-proliferation regime is actually very robust, due to the nature of the contemporary international system and the changed role of armed conflict between states since the end of the Cold War. The argument posits that an exaggerated view of the threat of nuclear proliferation to global security has arisen as part of a national security narrative that paints a landscape of a multitude of emerging threats to global security in which the proliferation of nuclear capabilities and ballistic missiles and international terrorism are central and linked elements. The chapter also argues that the assumption that nuclear proliferation in itself represents the 'sum of all fears', a vital threat to international security is misguided. Without endorsing the enthusiasm for proliferation expressed by noted scholar Kenneth Waltz, it must be acknowledged that the acquisition of nuclear weapons can have a stabilising effect on conflict regions by mitigating the security concerns of the weaker parties.
