Nonproliferation

Dan of taxdap makes some good points about the New Core, but it also gets me thinking about the nonproliferation regime. The US-India nuclear deal seems to imply that the NPT regime needs a major renegotiation, or that it's finally time to write it off. What could replace it? Who is "worthy" of being a nuclear weapons state, and what should be done about those who fail to meed the standards? Maybe the US should promote a policy that only democracies can have nuclear weapons? It fits the "Commonwealth of Democracies" idea. There's a lot of leeway in who you can label a democracy, so we can include whatever nuclear powers whatever nuclear powers the commonwealth chooses--sort of like letting Russia in the G-8 when it doesn't really deserve it.

It's time to accept that the current nonproliferation system is pretty much damaged beyond repair. From the start it was based on a division of the world into two classes of states, with a compact between them Neither of those points are entirely valid now. The problem is a lack of consensus regarding what to do next.