Israel and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime

The United States has always considered the spread of nuclear weapons as a threat to its national interests. It therefore was the main initiator (together with the USSR) of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and other international instruments that join the NPT to form the international nonproliferation regime. In addition, the United States has acted in different ways to halt and reverse nuclear proliferation tendencies. At the same time, the American position on nonproliferation has varied over the years in terms of the priority attached to this goal as compared to other foreign policy objectives. Then again, different American administrations have perceived the value of international norms and regimes through different prisms and lenses.