Obstacles to Progress on the NPT

 "Beginning any moment now," writes Robert Wright of the Ploughshares-funded New America Foundation, "you’ll see a month-long trickle of news articles, op-eds and blog posts about the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review conference, which gets underway in New York City this Monday and lasts through May 28. Since the fate of the world could hinge on stemming the spread of nuclear weapons, and this goal could in turn hinge on strengthening the treaty at these every-five-years review conferences, you may feel you should read much of this coverage."  Wright provides a primer on the key issues to be addressed at that conference, along with an explanation of why progress will be difficult. Crediting Jeffrey Lewis and Arms Control Wonk, Jacqueline Shire of the Institute for Science and International Security and  the Arms Control Association's guide to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review conference for informing his thinking, Wright concludes that "the fact that we still have time to do some visionary thinking before the apocalypse sets in is a tribute to the nonproliferation treaty."