ABSTRACT
Weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and especially nuclear weapons, have long been recognised as global catastrophic risks, and the international community has responded with governance measures based on multilateral treaties. This has worked to an extent, but the risks remain and are growing alongside current geopolitical trends and technological advances. Improving global governance of these risks will require preserving the benefits of the treaty-based system while addressing normative deficits and developing network-based governance approaches that draw on the capabilities of a wider range of actors beyond governments and intergovernmental organisations. Such a piecemeal, incremental approach will not be elegant but is feasible in the absence of political consensus and has a much better chance of success than attempting a fundamental reconstruction of the system.
