Introduction: the nuclear ban treaty as negation of negation

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), adopted by 122 states in July 2017, answers to at least two key demands. First, the treaty codifies its supporters' aspiration to disturb the hegemonic nuclear discourse and galvanise nuclear disarmament processes. Second, the TPNW constitutes a symbolic response to the perceived failure of the established nuclear powers to live up to their Non-Proliferation Treaty disarmament commitments. As such, the TPNW constitutes a 'negation of negation' that transforms the nature of the global nuclear hierarchy.