Medicine, conflict, and survival
-
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in July 2017, has been met with mixed reactions. While supporters have described the Treaty as a watershed in the struggle for disarmament, others have expressed fervent opposition. One of the most serious charges levelled at the TPNW is that it will undermine the long-standing nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), by many regarded as a cornerstone of the international security architecture. ⋯ Investigating the legal and political cogency of these arguments, we argue that not only may the TPNW be reconciled with existing legal instruments, the new Treaty supports and reinforces key norms and institutions on which the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime is based. Furthermore, any technical challenges that might arise in the future may be addressed at meetings of states party; the drafters envisioned a dynamic process of institutional adaptations and expansion. The main challenge facing advocates of the Treaty is political: convincing the nuclear-armed states to disarm.
-
Historical Article
Private actors, global health and learning the lessons of history.
Private business and philanthropic organizations have played a prominent role in the response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the support of global health governance more broadly. While this involvement may appear to be novel or unprecedented, this article argues that this active role for private actors and philanthropies actually mirrors the historical experience of cross-border health governance in the first half of the twentieth century. By examining the experiences, roles and criticisms of the Rockefeller Foundation's International Health Division and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, it is possible to identify potential opportunities for better cooperation between public and private actors in global health governance.