EISS 2025 - Annual Conference

Session

Weapons of Mass Destruction: Non-Proliferation and Arms Control

WMD

27 Jun 2025, 11:30

Conference Room "Ilias Koukouvelis" (University of Macedonia)

Conveners

Weapons of Mass Destruction: Non-Proliferation and Arms Control

• Clara PORTELA (University of Valencia)

Description

This panel serves as a platform to present and discuss new research on arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). In light of Russia‘s nuclear threats and Iran’s growing nuclear program, the panel especially encourages submissions that focus on strategies and institutions to prevent the proliferation and use of nuclear weapons. The panel aims to bring into conversation scholars from different disciplines, such as political science, history, international law, and science and technology studies (STS), and seeks to facilitate a multidisciplinary dialog on non-proliferation and arms control. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the tension between nuclear disarmament and deterrence; the role of civil society in managing nuclear risks; and international verification. Preference will be given to submissions that have a clear European angle and address both past patterns and current challenges.

268. Strategic Stability Without Arms Control

Jamie Withorne (Oslo Nuclear Project, University of Oslo)

27/06/2025, 11:30

Weapons of Mass Destruction: Non-Proliferation and Arms Control

Paper Abstract (Closed Panels)

Arms control has increasingly been pronounced “dead.” Indeed, recent empirics are grim. In 2023, Russia unilaterally suspended participation in New START, the last remaining bilateral arms control agreement since the Cold War. While the future of arms control is uncertain, Russia, China, and the United States have expressed nominal interest in maintaining strategic stability. However,...

317. The Soviet Union/Russia and the spread of the bomb

Lydia Wachs (Stockholm University)

27/06/2025, 11:50

Weapons of Mass Destruction: Non-Proliferation and Arms Control

Paper Abstract (Closed Panels)

What explains the variation in the Soviet Union’s/Russia’s commitment to nuclear nonproliferation? While many scholars have examined the US role in the nonproliferation regime, relatively little scholarly research has systematically considered Moscow’s nonproliferation and nuclear assistance policy. By fusing insights from previous nonproliferation theories with literature about Moscow’s...

340. The Universalization of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons : Lessons from the CWC and BWC and the Role of Customary International Law

Agata Bidas (University of Vienna)

27/06/2025, 12:10

Weapons of Mass Destruction: Non-Proliferation and Arms Control

Paper Abstract (Closed Panels)

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) represents a critical step toward global nuclear disarmament, yet its universal adoption faces significant challenges, particularly due to resistance from nuclear-armed states. This paper examines the potential for expanding the TPNW’s adoption by drawing insights from the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Biological Weapons...

319. Changing Pathways to the Bomb

Eliza Gheorghe (Bilkent University)

27/06/2025, 12:30

Weapons of Mass Destruction: Non-Proliferation and Arms Control

Paper Abstract (Closed Panels)

Previous research on whether the nuclear nonproliferation regime (NPR) works has focused on whether it deters states from seeking nuclear weapons, with mixed results. We investigate an alternative mechanism: by suppressing the global market for nuclear technology, the NPR forces would-be proliferants to build sensitive nuclear facilities on their own and in secret. This should affect both what...