Perspectives of Arms Control

In times of growing geopolitical tensions, questions of arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation regain importance. To support political decision-makers with expertise on arms control and other security-related topics, the German Federal Foreign Office and PRIF have set up a joint doctoral program for young researchers. Against the background of returning national and international conflicts, dwindling support for multilateral treaties, new arms dynamics and weapons technologies, four doctoral researchers will analyze current and future problems of arms control and outline possibilities for cooperation in this field. The projects aim to further adapt scientific debate on arms control to new technological, political and normative developments, as well as to critically assess current political practice. The doctoral program ties in with existing cooperation between PRIF and the German Federal Foreign Office and aims to deepen exchange between theory and political practice: while the four doctoral researchers provide their expertise on arms control, they gain insights into the practical implementation of arms control and international cooperation during research stays at the Federal Foreign Office.

Against the background of a radicalization of group positions within the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Jana Baldus analyses the influence of group identities on nuclear arms control and disarmament.

Sascha Hach analyses how the Nuclear Non-Proliferation regime reproduces a post-colonial order. He is particularly interested in how contestation of this order is developing and what prospects exist for a new, multilateral nuclear order. 

In the field of new military technologies, Anna-Katharina Ferl addresses the question of how knowledge and practice of arms control can have a preventive effect on the development of new weapons systems, in particular Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS). 

In a comparative study of African states, Matthias Schwarz asks which structural conditions facilitate intransparency and corruption in arms trade. Specifically, he analyses the influence of politico-economic factors on compliance with regional and global arms control agreements.

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The Art of Engineering at the NPT Review Conference | 2021

Hach, Sascha (2021): The Art of Engineering at the NPT Review Conference. How Germany and Other Umbrella States Can Build Bridges, PRIF Blog, 9.12.2021.

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Ingenieurskunst für die NPT-RevCon | 2021

Hach, Sascha (2021): Ingenieurskunst für die NPT-RevCon. Wie Deutschland und andere Schirmstaaten Brücken schlagen können, PRIF Spotlight 15/2021, Frankfurt/M.

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Arms Transfers in the Gulf of Aden | 2021

Schwarz, Matthias (2021): Arms Transfers in the Gulf of Aden. Shining the Spotlight on Regional Dynamics, PRIF Spotlight 6/2021, Frankfurt/M.

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From Legal to Illegal Transfers: Regional Implications of Weapon Flows to Libya | 2020

Schwarz, Matthias (2020): From Legal to Illegal Transfers: Regional Implications of Weapon Flows to Libya, PRIF Blog, 10.12.2020.

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Digital diplomacy: The debate on lethal autonomous weapons systems in Geneva continues under unprecedented circumstances | 2020

Anna-Katharina Ferl, Digital diplomacy: The debate on lethal autonomous weapons systems in Geneva continues under unprecedented circumstances, 2020, https://blog.prif.org/2020/09/29/digital-diplomacy-the-debate-on-lethal-autonomous-weapons-systems-in-geneva-continues-under-unprecedented-circumstances/.

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Ein Schritt vor, zwei Schritte zurück? | 2020

Ferl, Anna-Katharina (2020): Ein Schritt vor, zwei Schritte zurück? Zum Stand der Genfer Gespräche, in: Wissenschaft und Frieden. Dossier, 90, www.wissenschaft-und-frieden.de/(...).

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Kein Grund zum Feiern: 75 Jahre Atomwaffentests | 2020

Baldus, Jana (2020): Kein Grund zum Feiern: 75 Jahre Atomwaffentests, PRIF Blog, 16.7.2020.

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