The control of nuclear weapons has long been dominated by state-centric models and theories. Actually, the field of international security poses quite some challenges for civil-society actors lacking state power and sources of state legitimacy.  Yet today, non-state actors have emerged as influential actors in the realm of arms control. This is particularly evident in humanitarian and conventional arms control, where coalitions of civil society and like-minded states succeeded in changing the normative discourse surrounding the means of warfare. Examples include the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) or the Cluster Munitions Coalition. 
 

When it comes to the control of weapons of mass destruction, the role of civil society actors has been far more limited. While politics related to the regulation of nuclear weapons have long been perceived as a prerogative of states, non-state actors have recently gained in visibility and demonstrated their agency in the governance of nuclear weapons. The most prominent example is the “humanitarian initiative”, a group of small and medium-sized states plus NGOs, devoted to disarmament and nonproliferation, that has severely shaken up the prevailing discourse on nuclear weapons. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was the driving force behind the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) which was adopted by a majority of 122 to 1 states at the United Nations in 2017. Not surprisingly, nuclear weapon states and their allies have taken an opposing stance towards the humanitarian initiative from its very beginnings and remain opposed to nuclear ban treaty. While government opposition seems bold, the majority of civilians supports the TPNW. On the sub-state level, more and more cities and local governments commit themselves to the nuclear ban by signing the ICAN cities appeal and demanding their governments to sign up the treaty. In many countries, including Germany, anti-nuke protests seems to be on the rise again, and we are witnessing a resurgent interest in nuclear disarmament by the young generation.

The project takes a broader, theoretical perspective as well as a more policy-oriented focus. With regard to the phenomenon of civil-society and sub-state engagement in the governance of nuclear weapons, it tackles the following questions: Given the asymmetrical power relation underlying the regime concerned with nuclear weapons, what role can non-state actors play in the governance of nuclear weapons? How do they seek exert influence on their governments and the broader public? How are the interconnections and linkages between and across the broad variety of civil society actors, including cross issue-area? How do civil society actors approach the nuclear weapons field?

In terms of policy advice, I am particularly interested in how the nuclear ban treaty relates to the global nuclear order in general and the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) specifically.