Nuclear Politics 2024

2024 Program Overview

The working group organized the second summer program, Nuclear Politics 2024, where SIGS provided nuclear disarmament education, free of charge, for selected college and university students. 12 students from 10 colleges and universities, including one high school, participated in the five-day summer program held from June 10-14, 2024, on the SUA campus. SIGS provided not only politically relevant knowledge and analysis about the danger of nuclear weapons in today’s global contexts but also a renewed sense of responsibility to imagine and explore frameworks or mechanisms of future security environments that do not have to rely on nuclear weapons.

Our learning objectives were:

• Analyze disarmament and non-proliferation issues through theoretical, legal, and historical perspectives.
• Identify current challenges and opportunities to realize a world free of nuclear weapons.
• Conceptualize and suggest a viable framework of action at the local, regional, and global levels.
• Develop personal and leadership skills to work collaboratively toward the completion of a group project.

Instructors

• Facilitated by institute staff, affiliates, and student program assistants.
• Ira Helfand, a member of the ICAN Steering Group and the past president of the Physicians for Social Responsibility, a US affiliate of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW)
• Masako Wada, the Assistant Secretary General of ‘Nihon Hidankyo’ and an atomic bomb survivor from Nagasaki
• Guest speakers from the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS)
  • Masako Toki, Senior Education Project Manager, Research Associate, CNS
  • David Schmerler, Senior Research Associate specializing in North Korea’s missile and nuclear program, CNS (virtually)
  • Yanliang Pan, Research Associate focused on artificial intelligence and nuclear nonproliferation, CNS (virtually)

Program Schedule and Content

Day 1: Shared mutual expectations and defined the scope of each participant’s final project, established a common baseline understanding of nuclear weapons, and introduced humanity-centered agendas for nuclear abolition.

• Sessions held: “Facts and Background of Nuclear Weapon Today” and “Humanitarian & Philosophical Underpinnings of Nuclear Abolition. ”

Day 2: Understood the inherent danger of nuclear weapons, the international and political mechanisms during the Cold War, and their present status. We invited David Schemerler, CNS Research Associate, and learned about the current situation of nuclear risks, focusing on North Korea.

• Sessions held: “Historical Experiences from the Cold War, ” “Historical Precedents of Nuclear Danger, ” “Current Risks: North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons and Missile Programs, ” and “International Architectures for Nuclear Disarmament & Non-proliferation 1. ”

Day 3: Assessed individual/organizational roles and current strategic discussions on disarmament, explored necessary, urgent, and feasible strategies for nuclear risk reduction, and also learned about the new risk with technology and nuclear weapons from Yanliang Pan, CNS Research Associate.

• Sessions held: “Current Risks: Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear Nonproliferation, ” “International Architectures for Nuclear Disarmament & Non-proliferation 2, ” “Nuclear Risk Reduction Strategies, ” and a simulation exercise to explore the most urgent, pragmatic, and feasible steps to reduce nuclear tension.

Day 4: We invited Masako Toki, CNS Senior Project Manager and Research Associate, and Ira Helfand from the ICAN Steering Group. With Toki, we explored the civil society movements and global disarmament efforts; from Helfand, we learned about the potential consequences of nuclear war and how to prevent it.

Day 5: Working session on developing one’s final projects – individual or collective action plans that each participant seeks to implement after returning to their respective communities. All celebrated learning experiences together at the conclusion ceremony.

Outcomes

After learning from experts for five intensive days, the participants vowed to commit to nuclear disarmament and abolition through individual, communal, and collaborative action. They proclaimed their pledge to pursue education and opportunities regarding nuclear disarmament, educating others, promoting their cause online and in their communities, and kicking off individual campaigns to pursue a world threat-free from nuclear weapons.

Proposed ideas include:

• drafting ICAN Cities Appeal for individual hometowns
• creating school clubs to spread awareness and get more involved in the topic
• individual learning and pursuing more education to increase knowledge about the dangers a nuclear war could bring
• getting involved with internships and more programs in the future
• opting for more creative domains, setting goals in many artistic mediums, and further delving into exploring diverse routes of raising awareness

To accomplish these goals and keep connected, the participants have decided and aim to collaborate with each other through online collaboration. By actively communicating and working together, the participants will spread this learned knowledge and further contribute to disarmament education and awareness.