Résumé:
Individual proliferators, the halted US-Russian arms-control negotiations, and the
resulting dissatisfaction over stalled progress towards disarmament had all posed challenges
to the global nuclear order in recent years. Then, under the guise of nuclear threats against
NATO, Russia began a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine. This has neither rendered the
international nuclear-governance framework ineffective, nor has it driven it to the brink of
collapse. So far, the Russian invasions of Ukraine, first in February 2014 and then again in
February 2022, have been fought solely with conventional weaponry. However, the RussianUkrainian conflict has significant, multilayered nuclear undertones. It raises serious concerns
about the dynamics of nuclear deterrence, the future of nuclear nonproliferation, arms control
and disarmament, and international nuclear energy governance. In sum, the current conflict in
Ukraine has serious consequences for the global nuclear order. The global nuclear order has
been fraught with inherent tensions and paradoxes since the shocking advent of nuclear
weapons into the international system in 1945. However, the conflict in Ukraine is worsening
the global nuclear problem by intensifying existing dysfunctions. It has to be seen whether
and how tensions are relieved, conflicts are resolved, and dysfunctions are mended. This
research examines the inherent vulnerabilities of the global nuclear order, diagnose how the
war in Ukraine might have exacerbated them, and open the way to the search for a cure.
