Evaluation

Data Sources

For our evaluation, we have created a non-representative dataset which encompasses courses dealing with arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation at Western universities. Course data and syllabi were obtained by browsing module handbooks and course directories of the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium’s university members. Moreover, we have consulted the Learn WMD Spreadsheet to acquire further data from universities which are not part of the Consortium.

The dataset includes a total of 60 university courses. For 24 of these classes, lecturers have kindly provided us with their syllabus or course outline. Out of these 24 syllabi, we have analyzed the required readings in a sample of 17. This amounts to 442 readings in total.

Evaluation Part I: Courses

Countries

Most courses on non-proliferation and disarmament education in our dataset were taught in the United States (39%), Germany (20.7%), and the United Kingdom (11%). These three countries combined accounted for over 80 percent of the university classes we have analyzed.

Study Levels

The overwhelming majority of the courses in our dataset (61.3%) was aimed at postgraduate (Master) students, while only a comparatively small share of classes (26.3%) was dedicated to undergraduate (Bachelor) students. For 10.6% of the courses, we were unable to ascertain the study level, and 5% were taught cross-level. This uneven distribution may be explained in part by the fact that the Learn WMD Spreadsheet emphasizes postgraduate programs, but it would nevertheless suggest that courses about arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation are primarily taught on the postgraduate level.

Main Topics

Most of the courses in our dataset had nuclear weapons (37%), arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation more broadly (30.9%), and weapons of mass destruction (14.8%) as their primary topic. Only a few courses were devoted exclusively to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, space, and cyber.

University Departments

Almost all the courses on arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation in our dataset were taught by political science or international relations faculty (85.2 percent). Only some classes were taught by natural sciences departments.

Gender (Instructors)

The gender structure in non-proliferation and disarmament education remains highly uneven. For 65.9 percent of the courses in our dataset, the instructor was male. Only 22 percent of the classes were taught be female lecturers, and 3.7 percent were instructed jointly by male and female lecturers. For 8.5 percent of the courses, we could not find information on the lecturer.

Nuclear Weapon Status

Most of the courses in our dataset were taught in nuclear weapon states (56.1%) or countries that participate as host nations in NATO nuclear sharing (22%). This would suggest that non-proliferation and disarmament education is more prevalent in countries which rely on nuclear deterrence for their security, although the distribution might be skewed due to the focus on Western universities.

Syllabus Availability

Evaluation Part II: Literature

Gender (Authors)

The gender distribution in non-proliferation and disarmament literature is highly unbalanced. For almost three out of four mandatory readings we have analyzed, the authors were male.

Most Popular Journals

The most frequently assigned journals (five or more mentions) were International Security (22.4%), The Nonproliferation Review (14.9%), Daedalus (7.5%) and Survival (8.1%), among many others.