ABSTRACT
The award of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was the culmination of a ten-year long struggle to put the worst weapon of mass destruction on equal legal and moral footing with other inhuman weapons, such as chemical and biological weapons, landmines and cluster munitions. In 2006, Norske leger mot atomvapen (NLA) together with NTA and Pugwash Norway initiated a national campaign for a nuclear weapon convention. NLA was the host organisation for ICAN Norway, having the formal responsibility for staff and economy. The first main strategic goal for ICAN Norway was to persuade the Norwegian government to initiate or actively support the start of negotiations for an international prohibition on nuclear weapons. ICAN Norway and its national partners worked very hard to counter the new government´s position, arguing that NATO membership did not hinder Norway from having an independent nuclear disarmament policy and challenging the idea of nuclear deterrence.
