Russia-Ukraine War & Nuclear Order
Has conflict between Russia and Ukraine ushered in a new era of nuclear dangers? Nuclear weapons were central to Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine from the outset. Indeed, persistent Russian threats to use nuclear arms and provocations at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station have drawn considerable public attention. In this course, students will think about nuclear weapons in the context of the war. They will consider topics such as implications for (non)proliferation, arms control, disarmament, and the future of the “nuclear taboo” established in the aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In-class simulations will enable students to better understand how practitioners attempt to analyze and avert nuclear risks. No prior background with nuclear issues is required.

Dr. Stephen Herzog is Professor of the Practice at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. He is an Associate of Harvard University’s Project on Managing the Atom and a former U.S. Department of Energy nuclear arms control official./