THE LEGAL EFFECTIVENESS OF THE NPT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NUCLEAR-FREE TOURISM BRAND

Abstract

This study examines how the legal effectiveness of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons shapes the emergence of a «nuclear-free» tourism brand and the spatial development of tourism in post-nuclear landscapes, with a focus on Kazakhstan and relevant comparators. The purpose is to connect treaty performance and domestic rules on access and radiation safety with destination identity, visitor communications about risk, and the planning of routes and sites. The research applies doctrinal analysis of international and national legal texts; transparent computer-assisted reading and coding of provisions; natural language processing of openly available visitor and media narratives; and reproducible mapping of safety buffers, feasible access corridors, and candidate itineraries, complemented by multi-criteria spatial evaluation and simple checks of publicly available visitation and search trends. The findings highlight three transmission channels through which legal effectiveness supports a nuclear-free brand: reputational signalling, regulatory certainty, and openness of monitoring data. Compliance with the treaty is not sufficient on its own; branding gains materialize when rules on access are clear, guides and operators are properly licensed, and risk briefings are standardized and visible. The study concludes that legally robust, transparent, and spatially explicit governance strengthens the nuclear-free brand and enables safe diversification of regional tourism.