La presidenza Johnson e il trattato di non-proliferazione nucleare

Abstract

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was opened for signature on July 1st, 1968, after a long, difficult and complex process of negotiation, in which important events in the history of the Cold War were involved. The NPT entered into force on March 1970. At that time, there were only five nuclear-weapon States (the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France and China). One aim of the Treaty was to prevent any increase in the number of nuclear-armed States, in order to avoid the risk of a nuclear conflict. Another goal was to foster peaceful uses of nuclear energy. For this reason, a safeguards system was established under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Defined by President Johnson as a “triumph of sanity and man’s will to survive”, today the Non-Proliferation Treaty is considered a milestone in the history of arms control and nuclear disarmament. This article examines the important role of President Johnson and his Administration during the process of negotiation and the impact of the MLF question and China’s detonation of a nuclear device (1964) on the NPT.