Nuclear fears have re-emerged among the younger generation amid global tensions

For decades, the possibility of the Soviet Union and the United States initiating a civilization-ending nuclear confrontation was the primary fear of many people growing up in the 20th century.^th century.

While the possibility of these cataclysms has never disappeared, the younger generation has been replaced by seemingly more pressing existential concerns, such as the climate crisis and nefarious artificial intelligence tools.

But the shadow of nuclear conflict has never disappeared, even though, thanks to the 56-year-old Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), nuclear weapons have not been used in war since two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

The return of nuclear rhetoric

And, in recent years, nuclear rhetoric has returned, prompting the UN to contact young activists and explain why these weapons should no longer be used on the battlefield.

“To be honest, nuclear war is not at the top of my agenda,” says 30-year-old Natalie Chen, “and the same is true for my peer group, but disarmament is definitely a top concern, in the context of current conflicts such as the wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran.”

Since becoming a member of the Youth Leader Fund for a World Without Nuclear Weapons (YLF), a program Organized by the UN, Chen, a Hong Kong-based arts producer based in the UK, has learned more about the complexities and key principles of nuclear disarmament, and why nuclear weapons continue to pose a grave risk to world peace.

Chen took part in an event on Thursday at the Poster House museum in New York, organized by the Government of Japan and supported by the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), which features artwork developed by participants from YLF’s second cohort.

This program aims to provide activists with the knowledge they need, to be more effective in disarmament and advocating for peace and security. “I learned how the political process can be strong if we, as the younger generation, are part of the process,” said YLF participant Abdul Mustafazade, an artist who uses digital media to make global issues more interesting.

“The language of disarmament can be very technical, and I have learned how to use art to make it understandable.”

New generation threat

Izumi Nakamitsu, head of UNODA, believes there is an urgent need to explain to young people why this is a major issue, and bring in a new generation of experts who have grown up with modern threats, such as AI and cyber hacking, that did not exist when the NPT was created.

“For about 30 years, after the end of the Cold War, we were fortunate not to have to worry too much about nuclear weapons,” Nakamitsu said, “but geopolitical tensions have returned, and one of the problems the disarmament community faces is that they keep looking back on things that were said in the past.

“But there are new challenges, such as the integration of AI into nuclear command and control, that are very scary to talk about.”

The event took place on the sidelines of the 2026 NPT review conference which took place at UN Headquarters until May 22.

Ms. Nakamitsu understands that the technical language may be difficult to follow, but this half-century-old treaty remains important.

“A world without the NPT would be less safe because more and more countries would want to have nuclear weapons, so the possibility of their use would be much greater. Before this treaty was agreed, it was estimated that there would be 30 or 40 countries that had nuclear weapons. This did not happen because of the NPT.”

Normalization of nuclear weapons

The Youth Leaders Fund is one way the UN helps young nuclear disarmament activists understand complex military doctrines so they can have diverse debates and be taken seriously by the prevention community.

It is also a way to reject the normalization of the use of nuclear weapons, something that greatly worries Nakamitsu, a Japanese citizen.

“This creates a very dangerous narrative, that small, ‘low-yield’ nuclear weapons can actually be used on the battlefield. That’s wrong. The bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki today would be categorized as low-yield nuclear weapons.

It is important to preserve the memory of what happened, and I hope my country will continue to do the same.”