Surviving the Third Nuclear Age

Aug. 12, 2024

Abstract: Our nuclear world is as dangerous today as it has been for at least a generation. The nuclear-armed "great powers" appear increasingly locked in geopolitical competition as the world moves from a unipolar to multipolar system; rapid technological change is creating the potential for enhanced nuclear and non-nuclear strategic weapons with different and destabilizing mission sets; international norms, consensus and arms control edifices that have formed the bedrock of the global nuclear order are slowly eroding; state and especially NGO-based disarmament activism is on the rise at the same time as interest in - and the salience of - nuclear technology for both military and non-military purposes is firmly back on the political agenda; and we increasingly see a set of very different and contested visions of the nuclear future. Arguably, the global nuclear order – and the nuclear peace that this order is ostensibly designed to maintain – is under more pressure than ever. Surviving the Third Nuclear Age will require political and societal engagement with deterrence, innovative thinking, restraint, trust, and probably also a decent amount of luck.

Bio: Andrew Futter is Professor of International Politics at the University of Leicester, UK and PI on the European Research Council funded "Third Nuclear Age" project. He has written widely on a range of nuclear issues for over a decade, including their recent books "Hacking the Bomb" (2018), "The Politics of Nuclear Weapons" (2021), "The Implications of Emerging Technologies in the Euro-Atlantic Space" (2023), and the forthcoming "The Global Third Nuclear Age" (2025). Andrew's work plays a key role in shaping the climate of ideas around nuclear policy, and has been used by governments, global civil society groups and professional organizations seeking to raise awareness of and better combat nuclear risks.

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