Over the past several decades, the nuclear field has developed a classical canon of seemingly sacred texts. These works are likely to be assigned in university-level courses on nuclear policy across the United States and the globe. Over the past few years, however, the nuclear field – just as affected by hierarchies and injustices as other social milieus – has been shaken by calls to critically rethink the global nuclear predicament and engage with more diverse voices and perspectives. This must involve interrogating the transmitter of nuclear knowledge: the academic syllabus. It is imperative to revisit how nuclear courses are taught, what questions are raised, and what texts are assigned. Accordingly, MTA brings together a group of exceptional scholars and long-time teachers of nuclear history and politics to discuss challenges, discoveries, frustrations, and the importance of teaching the bomb in the 21^st century.

The first Meeting of the States Parties to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will convene in Vienna, Austria at the end of June 2022. This seminal diplomatic meeting of states that argue nuclear weapons undermine global security occurs at a time marked by unprecedented anxiety over potential nuclear weapon use. Yet, academic debates in nuclear politics have for decades been dominated by questions related to nuclear deterrence, proliferation, and nonproliferation. Studies on nuclear disarmament have long received relatively little attention in mainstream scholarly discourse. As the TPNW emerges as a new element in the landscape of multilateral nuclear diplomacy, academic inquiry must keep pace with political realities.

Moderated by Matthew Fuhrmann, the panel features Rebecca Davis Gibbons, Kjølv Egeland, Hassan Elbahtimy, Stephen Herzog, Tamara Patton, and Olamide Samuel.

The panel is convened by MTA as part of the Research Network on Rethinking Nuclear Deterrence.

While this virtual event is on the record, the event organizers prohibit any attendees, including journalists, from audio/visual recording or distributing parts or all of the event program without prior written authorization.

Speakers: Rebecca Davis Gibbons, Associate, Project on Managing the Atom; Ariel Petrovics, Postdoctoral Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom

This seminar seeks to examine the causes and consequences of public involvement in nuclear programs in two parts: first, exploring why some leaders involve the public in nuclear discussions, and then assessing shifts in public opinion in response to such cueing. Together, these  parts can help better understand when and how domestic publics can affect the trajectory of their states' nuclear programs.

Everyone is welcome to join us via Zoom! Register before the seminar here: 
https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEpceGprj0qHtYbTdT-_mgWIZVU_VNPqtZa

Speakers: Rebecca Davis Gibbons, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom; Ariel Petrovics, Stanton Nuclear Security Postdoctoral Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom

Though only nine states in the world today are believed to possess their own nuclear weapons, many more states have the capability to pursue a nuclear bomb if they choose. This capability – or nuclear latency – has recently drawn attention in international relations scholarship, which largely focuses on the effects of latency on international deterrence, compellence, and bargaining. While this research helps explain the security benefits and motives that may drive states to pursue nuclear capabilities short of the bomb, it has yet to determine how domestic politics play into these considerations. This project explores how public opinion factors into state decisions to pursue or forgo latent nuclear capabilities. In doing so, it seeks to offer new insight into when and why latency can become a salient topic to domestic audiences, and the implications of these domestic drivers for the future of nonproliferation.

Everyone is welcome to join us online via Zoom! Please register in advance for this seminar:
https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwuc-qrqj4pG90vSX2_VoG35zaE6L6mkPQt

A Project on Managing the Atom (MTA) seminar with Rebecca Davis Gibbons, postdoctoral research fellow with MTA and the International Security Program.

This seminar will be held online via Zoom: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/423799092

A seminar with Rebecca Davis Gibbons, postdoctoral research fellow with the International Security Program and Project on Managing the Atom.

Speaker: Rebecca Davis Gibbons, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program

The Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is widely credited with contributing to international security through its promotion of nuclear restraint. Whereas almost all states in the international system are members of the NPT, many of these states have not signed on to additional treaties and agreements designed to strengthen the regime. Having already committed to foreswear the possession of nuclear weapons, why would some NPT members avoid taking steps to further the treaty's proclaimed goals? States' affinity to U.S. global leadership explains such variation.

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.