Atomic Anxiety in the New Nuclear Age: How Can Arms Control and Disarmament Reduce the Risk of Nuclear War?

该项目审查如何开展核军备控制和裁军工作，以减少和避免核冲突的风险。根据联合国秘书长的说法，世界已经进入了“自冷战高峰以来从未见过的核危险时期”。这个危险的“新核时代”是军备控制条约崩溃、核武器国家之间紧张局势加剧以及弗拉基米尔·普京（Vladimir Putin）威胁使用核武器的结果，普京警告说，反对他入侵乌克兰的人将面临“不祥的后果”。与此同时，所有拥有核武器的国家都在对其核武库进行现代化或增加。在原子焦虑加剧的背景下，本项目调查了核武器的合法性是如何传播、构建和争议的，然后研究了如何在这些见解的基础上改进核军备控制和裁军努力。尽管一场小规模的核冲突都可能造成灾难性后果，但各国仍在继续维持、现代化并增加其核武库。为什么?该项目解决了这个难题，并有两个主要目标。首先，它试图理解国家如何以及为什么在这个“新核时代”声称其核武器的合法性，以及理解其他政治行为者和公众成员如何同意、默许或挑战这些主张。第二，该项目批判性地评估了如何通过改进核军备控制和裁军宣传及机制来减轻核战争风险，从而使其获得更多的国际支持。该项目通过对多个数据源的创新、混合方法研究来实现这些目标。这些方法包括：1)对政策文件、军事学说和外交声明进行文献分析；2)对有关核武器主题的新闻媒体和社交媒体内容进行话语分析；3)对政策制定者、核军备控制和裁军倡导者以及公众进行访谈和焦点小组讨论。该项目将支持两个博士后职位和一个博士研究生（由格拉斯哥大学资助），从而建立一个世界领先的核军备控制和裁军团队的能力。通过这项研究，该项目将提供：a)绘制所有联合国成员国在“新核时代”的政策及其核武器框架的全球地图；b)了解关于核武器、军备控制和裁军的全球舆论，这将为c)关于如何发展和改进军备控制和裁军工作的变革理论，从而进一步减少核冲突的风险，例如，通过与国际决策者和公众建立对军备控制和裁军的支持。在此过程中，该项目为有关国际安全、核裁军和社会运动的学术文献做出了贡献。值得注意的是，该项目对同意成为项目合作伙伴的政策制定者和倡导组织也具有很高的影响力，例如国际废除核武器运动（2017年诺贝尔和平奖获得者），核裁军运动，核时代和平基金会，英美安全信息委员会和达成关键意愿-他们致力于降低核战争的风险。

This project examines how nuclear arms control and disarmament efforts can be developed to reduce and avert the risk of nuclear conflict. According to the Secretary General of the United Nations, the world has entered 'a time of nuclear danger not seen since the height of the Cold War'. This dangerous 'new nuclear age' is the result of arms control treaties collapsing, rising tensions between nuclear weapon states, and threats to use nuclear weapons such as those made by Vladimir Putin, who has warned of 'ominous consequences' against anyone who opposes his invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, all of the nuclear weapon states are modernising or increasing their nuclear arsenals. In this context of heightened atomic anxiety, this project investigates how the legitimacy of nuclear weapons is communicated, constructed, and contested, and then examines how nuclear arms control and disarmament efforts can be improved based on these insights. Despite the catastrophic potential of even a small nuclear conflict, states continue to maintain, modernise, and increase their nuclear weapons arsenals. Why? This project addresses this puzzle and has two central aims. First, it seeks to understand how and why states claim legitimacy for their nuclear weapons in this 'new nuclear age', as well as understanding how other political actors and members of the public consent to, acquiesce or challenge these claims. Second, the project critically assesses how the risk of nuclear war can be mitigated through improving nuclear arms control and disarmament advocacy and mechanisms so that they gain more international support.The project delivers these aims through innovative, mixed methods research of multiple data sources. These methods include: 1) documentary analysis of policy documents, military doctrine, and diplomatic statements, 2) discourse analysis of news media and social media content on the topic of nuclear weapons, 3) interviews and focus groups with policymakers, nuclear arms control and disarmament advocates, and members of the public. The project will support two post-doctoral positions and a PhD studentship (funded by the University of Glasgow), thereby building capacity for a world-leading team on nuclear arms control and disarmament.Through this research, the project will provide: a) a global mapping of all UN member state policies and their framing of nuclear weapons in the 'new nuclear age', b) an understanding of global opinion about nuclear weapons, arms control, and disarmament, that will inform c) a theory of change for how arms control and disarmament efforts can be developed and improved, so as to further reduce the risk of nuclear conflict, by for example, building support for arms control and disarmament with international policymakers and the public. In doing so, the project contributes to academic literatures on international security, nuclear disarmament, and social movements. Significantly, the project also has high impact utility for policymakers and advocacy organisations who have agreed to be project partners - such as the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (winners of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize), the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, the British American Security Information Council, and Reaching Critical Will - who work to reduce the risk of nuclear war.