The International Law of Nuclear Weapons

Dear Everyday Ambassadors,

I am coming to you a few days in advance with this week's edition of our Nuclear Free Futures Initiative because of some upcoming international travel. This week’s Primer gives you a quick overview of the international law of nuclear weapons.¹ Enjoy!

What’s next?

Mark Your Calendar: Live Event This Sunday with Peace Advocate Christine Ahn

Sunday, June 15 at 5 PM Eastern, I’ll be in conversation with Christine Ahn, a feminist peace advocate whose work offers the kind of innovative thinking our world needs right now.

Christine is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and founder of Women Cross DMZ, a global movement of women working to end the Korean War. She’s also a regular voice on major media outlets like BBC, Democracy Now!, and MSNBC, bringing crucial perspective to our national conversations about security and diplomacy.

On the heels of a certain military parade in Washington, our conversation will explore:

• A “feminist peace playbook” - Christine’s framework for building lasting security that serves everyone, not just the powerful

• Peace prospects on the Korean Peninsula and in North Asia: how the lingering impacts of the Second World War continue to shape Asian geopolitics

• The evolution of peace movements- how they’ve adapted throughout history and what they need to do now

• Military spectacle vs. democratic values - what we can learn from comparing Trump’s planned military parade to authoritarian displays of power

Invite your friends! Registration is free and open to all: https://open.substack.com/live-stream/34603

I hope you’ll join us this Sunday. These live conversations are some of my favorite parts of our community experience! Can’t make it live? All subscribers will receive access to the recording afterward.

Your Turn:

Please share your thoughts on the international law of nuclear weapons below! Which of the two treaty regimes I discuss in the Primer--the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons--makes most sense to you and why? Or do you see value in both? Gaps in both?

Have a great week and see you Sunday for our Substack Live!

Annelise

1. This video is based on my co-authored paper: Miyazaki, Hirokazu, and Annelise Riles. 2022. “Theorizing Intergenerational Justice in International Law: The Case of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.” UC Irvine Journal of International, Transnational, and Comparative Law 7: 122-145.