Opinion
A Realistic, Progressive Foreign Policy for the United States
A Realistic, Progressive Foreign Policy for the United States Dr Dan Plesch Director, CISD SOAS University This article was originally published on thebaraza.org on 17th…
Could the US Win World War III Without Using Nuclear Weapons?
Could the US Win WWIII Without Using Nuclear Weapons? Dr Dan Plesch Director, CISD SOAS University This article was originally published on theconversation.com on 19th…
A Renaissance in Disarmament: Time for the Third Great Charter of Paris
A Renaissance in Disarmament: Time for the Third Great Charter of Paris? Dr Dan Plesch Director, CISD SOAS University This article was originally published on…
Dismantling Patriarchal Structures in Disarmament and Security
For decades, women have fought the hierarchy that characterizes patriarchy, which is maintained by obedient norms and structures. While obedience has been challenged in more or less overt ways, resistance to the patriarchal structure of society has been underway for a long time.
The Nuclear Ban Treaty: A Game-changer for Female Participation?
For the first time, an international legal instrument on nuclear weapons recognizes the disproportionate impact on both women and indigenous people.
Gender Inclusion: A Crucial Path towards Attaining Disarmament?
Courage is needed to seek and introduce women’s perspectives in disarmament since such revision will alter how arms control is perceived and developed.
Beyond AEGIS: Strategic Stability and Emerging Technologies
Critically, the modernization of Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD)- counter opposing forces designed to destroy incoming missiles- poses a further destabilising threat to strategic stability.
To Break Cycles of War We Must Break Cycles of Custom: Why We Need Women Within Disarmament
Whilst key individuals and groups of women have had tremendous impact around the world there is still a disproportionate lack of female representation within society
The TPNW Coming into Force and the NPT RevCon
The Ban Treaty now outlaws nuclear weapons. What now for nuclear armed states and other non-signatories?
The Impact of the 50th Ratification of the TPNW on the Global Disarmament Efforts
Even though the world’s big nuclear weapons states today did not adopt it, the TPNW is going to change the conversation on nuclear weapons, how we learn about nuclear weapons, how we talk about them, and who can talk about them.
Women Representation in Disarmament and Peace Building: Where Are We at?
2020 marks the 25th anniversary from the Beijing Declaration, which promoted the most visionary agenda in terms of gender equality in many areas, including security. Yet, big gaps remain to be filled.
Women and Conflict: How peacebuilding efforts can benefit us ALL
Women and Conflict India Achilles Research Team, SCRAP Weapons How Peacebuiding Efforts Can Benefit Us All Sexual violence is continually used as a tool to…
Disarmament that Saves Lives
Disarmament that Saves Lives Dan Plesch Director, SCRAP Weapons, CISD SOAS Opportunities and Challenges drawn from the Panel Discussion, “Building on the Secretary General’s Disarmament…
Regional Initiatives, the DPRK and Iran, and the Platinum Standard.
In considering denuclearizing the DPRK and efforts to address the Iranian situation and the JCPOA, steps can be taken to strengthen security in the regions where the states are located: Northeast Asia and the Middle East.
Reflections on US involvement in the Saudi-Yemen War: America and the ATT
Even when broken down into statistics, the humanitarian toll is sobering. With 10,000 civilians dead, 22 million in need of aid, 8 million subjected to famine, and 1 million infected with cholera, the results of the disastrous Yemen war speak of a conflict that has been handled well outside the bounds of acceptable conduct.
Future Weapons Technology: Why the Analogy of Nuclear Cannot be Applied to Cyberspace, and How to Respond to New Logic
Comparisons are often made between the regulation of cyber and nuclear weapons. This analogy, however, is severely limited – particularly in relation to disarmament – and fails to reflect the unique dynamics of each. This short discussion will briefly examine the different logics of nuclear and cyber-deterrence (in cases of state-versus-state use).
Interview with SCRAP Alumnus David Franco
Former SCRAP Project Manager David Franco shares his experience with the project. Franco is a alumnus of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS University of London and, former SCRAP Project Co-ordinator from 2011 to 2012. Interview by: Alexandra MacAulay Abdelwahab
Hiroshima and Nagasaki : The Legacy of Nuclear Weapons and Disarmament
It’s been 73 years this week since the United States detonated atomic bombs over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during the final stages of World War II. The bombings happened on the mornings of 6th and 9th August, 1945 respectively. Today, they remain the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
Nuclear disarmament is crucial for global security – it shouldn’t have to wait
A network of global institutions were created in 1945 to try and avert another global conflict. They have been gradually undermined over the last 20 years, and now we see them being trashed wholesale. The world leaders responsible are perhaps best described by General Jack D. Ripper in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove: “They have neither the time nor inclination for strategic thought.”
The Summit Strategy We Really Need
Fear of war looms in the background of the latest round of presidential meetings. At a time when Stanley Kubrick’s General Jack D. Ripper in Dr. Strangelove seems an apt description for the behaviour of world leaders…
Reconciling National Security with General and Complete Disarmament
Reconciling National Security with General and Complete Disarmament SCRAP was recently mentioned in a new paper by Marc Finaud, an expert from the Geneva Centre for…
40 Acts to Save the World : Secretary-General’s Agenda for Disarmament
40 Acts to Save the World: Secretary-General’s Agenda for Disarmament We’ve summarised the Securing Our Common Future: An Agenda for Disarmament report released last month…
UN Secretary General Disarmament Report: A Comprehensive Agenda for Disarmament
UN Secretary General Disarmament Report: A Comprehensive Agenda for Disarmament On 24th May, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres released his new agenda for general…
Prospects for Arms Control in North-East Asia
The world is currently inching towards a precipice. North Korea’s nuclear ambitions have put Asian security in a precarious position and it risks dragging in other world powers that also have a stake in the region, such as the United States. This state of affairs bears an uncanny resemblance to the Security Dilemma…
Reflections on the General Debate of the First Committee, General Assembly of the United Nations
It comes with little surprise that the nuclear disarmament agenda is heavily supported by multilateral institutions and member states that are non-nuclear. Getting nuclear-armed states on board with the disarmament agenda will be a strategic challenge…
Combat Drones: The Brave New World of the Conventionalization of Unmanned Warfare
Twenty years ago, the US Air Force began to develop the next generation of fighter aircraft aimed at securing total air superiority. The F-22 Raptor was intended to triumph over the relics of Soviet imperialism – Flankers and Fulcrums, Sukhoi and MiGs.
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