Rethinking Multilateral Negotiations: Disarmament as Humanitarian Action

Increasing attention has been focused in recent years on the need for multilateral negotiation processes in the disarmament and arms control field to “think outside the box” in addressing contemporary challenges. But beyond recognition that there are imperfections in current approaches, it is not always clear that the parameters of the existing box are sufficiently understood or, indeed, what these new approaches should be in practical terms. This introductory paper considers some of the assumptions that negotiating practitioners in the multilateral disarmament and arms control field currently hold—among them orthodox notions of national security and “political will”—and questions whether they are always sufficient or appropriate in framing effective multilateral responses.1 Several different ideas are unpacked (ideas that might initially appear disparate) pointing to some avenues for follow-up in order to assist negotiating practitioners in their work.