How the war in Ukraine broke the nuclear taboo

In 2009, Barack Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize, in part for his calls for the advent of a « world without nuclear weapons ». Already at the time, the hopes of the former American president seemed illusory, when emerging or revisionist powers were instead investing in the race for the atom. Fifteen years later, while the disarmament treaties are obsolete and certain countries are dangerously sliding the nuclear weapon, in its tactical form, from the principle of deterrence to a concept of employment, these pacifist dreams seem to belong to ancient times. .

This is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous effects of the war in Ukraine for the international strategic order. By regularly brandishing the atomic threat, Vladimir Putin has largely contributed to making the nuclear taboo disappear. Since February 2022, the « sanctuarisation agressive » allowed it to rely on Russia's nuclear capacity to conduct…