4.0

credits

Average Course Rating

How can a world of multiple nuclear powers control the spread of this immensely powerful nuclear technology? This course will introduce the student to these challenges by looking at how nuclear weapons work, why some countries are tempted to seek them, and the implications of nuclear weapons for civilian nuclear power and geopolitical stability. 55 years have elapsed since an international non-proliferation regime was established based on the 1968 Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The Treaty assigned responsibility to the International Atomic Energy Agency of the United Nations (IAEA) for applying safeguards to nuclear and related materials, nuclear equipment and facilities to ensure that they remain in peaceful use. New challenges arise from growing interest by some nations in acquiring nuclear weapons to meet their perceived security needs, and the revival of interest in nuclear power as a carbon-free energy source, including from countries that have no experience in nuclear technology. Russia's veiled threats of possible nuclear use connected to the war in Ukraine have further heightened nuclear anxieties and heightened interest in acquiring nuclear capabilities, not to mention the concerns of nuclear weapons acquisition and possible use in the Middle East. In addition, increasing threats of nuclear terrorism from acts of malice, diversion, sale, and theft of nuclear material and technologies contribute to the scenario of competing nations able to master the technology and thirsting for the security benefits it seems to offer. North Korea and Iran are not alone in this. Students will gain an understanding of the political and military dynamics of nuclear weapons, ways to slow or halt the spread of such weapons and how to reduce the dangers of nuclear terrorism. Group discussions, simulated exercises, and guest lecturers by current and former expert nuclear practitioners will introduce additional real-world dimensions into the classroom.