ISF International Security Forum

Monday, 30 May 2011, 16:30 - 18:00

Hosted by the Center for Security Studies (CSS)

Since the dawn of the atomic age more than six decades ago, a world free of nuclear weapons has been the constant dream of thinkers haunted by these weapons’ ability to unleash Armageddon. Conversely, nuclear disarmament has become a nightmare for strategists concerned with the potential return of large-scale conventional warfare to the superpowers’ arena. Sidelined throughout the unchallenged unipolarity of the 1990s, this topic has slowly resurfaced on the wings of additional proliferators challenging established regional orders and of rising powers questioning the global status quo. In his memorable speech in Prague in April 2009, US President Barack Obama outlined a bold vision of nuclear disarmament. So far, his administration has managed to achieve small incremental steps on what appears to be a long and thorny road. This panel of both experienced policy makers and critical voices from academia will attempt to shed some light on the benefits and concerns related to potential measures towards the disarmament goal.

Listen to Nuclear Weapons - Between Management and Abolition (Audio)

Chair

Andreas Wenger
Professor and Director, Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Speakers

Joseph Cirincione
President, Ploughshares Fund, Washington, DC, US

Bruno Tertrais
Senior Research Fellow, Fondation pour la recherche stratégique, Paris, France

John Mueller
Woody Hayes Chair of National Security Studies, Mershon Center, and Professor of Political Science, Ohio State University, Columbus, US

More on Discussion Topic

Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Weapons Control 

Location

Yellow Room