Security in a Nuclear-Armed World

Benoît Pelopidas and Kjølv Egeland

Sciences Po

Spring 2021

This course will introduce the main debates about nuclear weapons and their effects on international security. Every session will be devoted to a crucial problem of the ‘nuclear age’ which is still relevant to contemporary security policymaking. How do we know that something “is nuclear” or not? Is there a “nuclear revolution” and if so, what does it mean? How do nuclear weapons affect military strategy? How to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons? How can we explain the nuclear arms race? What is at stake in the debate about nuclear disarmament and the nuclear ban treaty? Why have nuclear weapons not been used in anger since 1945? What are the political implications of referring to “Weapons of Mass Destruction” (WMD)? These questions will be introduced through the study of concepts as well as historical events and their political operationalization.

Level: Postgraduate

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