Course Description:
This course will explore the current state of academic debate on nuclear weapons. A broad set of issues will be discussed, including: nuclear infrastructure and dual use technology; drivers and controls of nuclear proliferation; legal and ethical assessments of nuclear weapons use and nuclear deterrence, regional security dilemmas, and strategies for achieving disarmament. The course will provide a critical overview of these issues, drawing on the relevant academic literature from political science, security studies, law and philosophical ethics.
Schedule:
Day 1 - Wednesday, 4 March:
10.00-10.30 Brief presentation of lecturers, participants and their research.
10.30-12.00 Introduction to the course: On nuclear weapons and current state of debate (Sverre Lodgaard, NUPI)
12.00-13.00 Lunch
13.00-14.00 Nuclear technology
- Dual-use infrastructure (Sibylle Bauer, SIPRI)
14.00-14.15 Coffee/Tea break
14.15-15.45 Proliferation: drivers and controls (Målfrid Braut-Hegghammer, IFS)
15.45-16.30 Discussion and questions
19.00 Dinner for lecturers and participants
Day 2 - Thursday, 5 March:
10.00-11:00 Nuclear Disarmament: An achievable goal? (Sverre Lodgaard, NUPI)
11:00-12.00 Ethical dilemmas of nuclear deterrence (Greg Reichberg, PRIO)
12.00-13.00 Lunch
13.00-14.30 Legal and Ethical assessments of Nuclear Weapons
- Nuclear weapons use under International Humanitarian Law (Cecilie Hellestveit, ILPI)
- Proposals to prohibit the use and stockpiling of nuclear weapons (Cecilie Hellestveit, ILPI)
14.30-14.45 Coffee/Tea Break
14.45-15.45 Discussion
15.45-16.00 Wrap up
Day 3 - Friday, 6 March:
08.30-10.00 Public seminar: The Hidden Role of Nuclear Weapons in Today's Security Environment
Speakers: Sverre Lodgaard, Nobumasa Akiyama, Nobuo Hayashi, Pavel Baev, Gregory Reichberg.
10.00-10.30 Coffee/Tea Break
10.30-11.30 Regional perspectives: Japan (Nobumasa Akiyama, Hitotsubashi University)
11.30-12.30 Regional perspectives: Iran (Maral Mirshahi, PRIO)
12.30-13.30 Lunch
13.30-14.30 Regional perspectives: Russia (Pavel Baev, PRIO)
14.30-15.30 Discussion and questions
15.30-16.00 Wrap up and closing remarks
Deadlines:
Application deadline: 20 February 2015
Essay deadline: 15 April 2015
Requirements:
In order to achieve 5 ECTS, an essay must be handed
in by 15 April 2015.
Admission:
The deadline for applications is 20 February 2015.
Please fill in the application form. PhD candidates should specify the
topic of their project under 'Research interests'. PhD candidates get
priority, but others with graduate studies from a relevant discipline
may also apply. Current members of the Resarch School on Peace and
Conflict simply register.
There is no
participation fee, but the cost of transportation and accommodation
must be covered by the participants. A limited number of stipends to cover basic
accommodation at neighbouring Anker Hotel are available for PhD students
who do not have funding for such course participation through their
universities.
Applicants will be notified
about the outcome of their application within a week after the
deadline. PhD candidates who apply prior to the deadline may request an
early evaluation of their application in an e-mail to
Kristoffer@prio.no.
Course Literature:
Books chapters:
Borrie, John & Caughley, Tim (eds) (2013) Viewing Nuclear Weapons through a Humanitarian Lens. United Nations Institute for disarmament research.
Debouzy, Olivier (2012) 'Nuclear deterrence and war' in Lindley, Julian & Boyer, Yves (eds) The Oxford Handbook of War, Chapter 11, pp.162-184.
Lodgaard, Sverre (ed) (2011) Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation. London and New York, Routledge.
Nystuen, G, Casey-Maslen, S, & Bersagel, AG (eds) (2014) Nuclear Weapons Under International Law, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Sagan, Scott Douglas, and Kenneth Neal Waltz. The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: An Enduring Debate. WW Norton & Company, 2013.
Articles:
Moshirzadeh, Homeira (2007) 'Discursive Foundations of Iran's Nuclear Policy', Security Dialogue December 2007; 38 (4), pp. 521-542. Sage Publications.
Sagan, Scott D. (2012) 'Why do states build nuclear weapons? Three models in search of a bomb.' International Security. Winter 1996/97, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 54-86, MIT Press.
Sagan, Scott D. (2014) 'Two Renaissances in Nuclear Security Studies' in McAllister, James & Labrosse, Diane (Eds) H-Diplo/ISSF Forum on "What We Talk About When We Talk About Nuclear Weapons.", 15 June 2014, pp. 2-10.
Sauer, Tom & Pretorius, Joelien (2014) Nuclear weapons and the humanitarian approach. Global Change, Peace & Security: formerly Pacifica Review: Peace, Security & Global Change, 26:3, pp. 233-250.
Schelling, Thomas C. (2009) 'A world without nuclear weapons?', Dædalus. Fall 2009, Vol. 138, No. 4, pp. 124-129.
Recommended readings:
Cohen, A. & Frankel B. (1991) 'Opaque Nuclear Proliferation' in Frankel, Benjamin (ed) Opaque nuclear proliferation – methodological and policy implications. London: Frank Cass.
Hymans, J.E.C. (2006) 'Theories of nuclear proliferation – The state of the field', Nuclear Weapons Proliferation: 2016 (Special Issue) (November 2006), Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 456-465.
Levite, A. (2003) 'Never say never again: nuclear reversal revisited', International Security, 27(3), pp. 59–88, MIT Press.
Paul, T.V. (2000). Power Versus Prudence: Why Nations Forgo Nuclear Weapons. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.
Sagan, Scott D. (2011) 'The Causes of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation', Annual Review of Political Science, Vol. 17 no. 14, pp. 225-24.
Solingen, E. (1994) 'The Political Economy of Nuclear Restraint', International Security, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Autumn 1994) pp. 126-169, MIT Press.
Solingen, E. (2007) Nuclear Logics: Contrasting Paths in East Asia and the Middle East. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.