A contestation of nuclear ontologies: resisting nuclearism and reimagining the politics of nuclear disarmament

The global politics of nuclear disarmament has become deeply contested over the past decade, particularly around negotiation 2017 Treaty on Prohibition Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Different explanations are offered, but these tend to centre geopolitics ‘security environment’ conceived in realist terms. This article makes sense TPNW and by examining its underlying discourse contestation within a wider framework hegemony resistances it, drawing Robert Cox’s theory hegemony. It argues that hardened into between two broadly incommensurable worldviews, or ontologies: hegemonic nuclearism subaltern anti-nuclearism. These not just different perspectives, fundamentally ways understanding have important implications for movement. Three conclusions emerge from this: intersectionality is vital anti-nuclearism processes resistance politics; agonistic; ‘bridge building’ approaches find middle ground generally deny this agonism thereby close down debate, explains why they often fail gain traction. builds critical scholarship hegemony, develops an original