Despite failing once again to adopt a final document, the 2026 NPT Review Conference revealed both troubling fractures and surprising resilience within the Treaty regime. From geopolitical polarisation and competing visions of the NPT to constructive discussions on AI and risk reduction, Emmanuelle Maitre writes, the conference offered reasons for concern and cautious optimism.
After 16 years without a consensus final document, write Carmen Wunderlich and Leonardo Bandarra, the challenge facing the NPT is less about disagreement on specific issues than about growing doubts over the role and value of the review process within an increasingly complex nuclear order, and amid geopolitical shifts and the renewed prominence of nuclear deterrence in global security policy.
Amid mounting geopolitical tensions and deepening scepticism about multilateral diplomacy, diplomats, experts, and civil society representatives are gathering in New York for the 2026 NPT Review Conference to confront growing divisions over disarmament and non-proliferation. In these reflections, ELN staff who attended the RevCon examine the mounting risks facing the global nuclear order, and consider what they reveal about the future of the NPT regime.
This commentary collection compiles 11 articles by ELN network members and external collaborators as part of the ELN’s Protecting the Non-Proliferation Treaty project. The collection was published to align with the 2026 NPT Review Conference in New York City.
This commentary collection compiles 10 articles by ELN network members and external collaborators as part of the ELN’s Protecting the Non-Proliferation Treaty project. The collection was originally published for the 2026 NPT RevCon.
The Eleventh NPT Review Conference (RevCon) begins on 27 April 2026 in New York City. Here, members of the ELN’s ‘Protecting the NPT’ project reflect on what they hope to see at this RevCon and offer advice to diplomats entering negotiations.