Sunflower overlaying a nuclear explosion

Nuclear Politics Past Programs

2023 Program Overview

On June 8-12, 2023, 16 selected participants from 9 colleges and universities from California and beyond participated in the Nuclear Politics 2023 Program at Soka University of America. They had lectures and discussion-based seminars, with workshops and role-play simulation exercises, discussing nuclear risk reduction strategies and abolition agendas. The program was facilitated by SIGS staff and student assistants, working group fellows, and experts from the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

Our learning objectives were:

Critically analyze disarmament and non-proliferation through theoretical, legal, and historical perspectives
Identify current challenges and opportunities to realize a world free of nuclear weapons
Conceptualize and suggest the proper course of action at the local, regional, and global levels
Develop personal and leadership skills to work collaboratively toward the completion of a common project

Instructors

Facilitated by institute staff, affiliates, and student research assistants.
Guest speakers from the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS)
- Jean du Preez, Senior Program Manager for Education and Training, CNS
- Sarah Bidgood, Director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program, CNS
- Masako Toki, Senior Education Project Manager, Research Associate, CNS
- Tricia White, CNS MPTS ’23

Program Schedule and Content

Day 1: Program introduction; examining nuclear weapons facts and backgrounds; assessing humanitarian and philosophical underpinnings of nuclear disarmament and abolition.
Day 2: Historical experiences from the Cold War; emerging international architectures for nuclear disarmament and abolition.
Day 3: Civil society and global efforts for disarmament; exploring options of viable nuclear risk reduction strategies.
Day 4: Contemporary case studies, followed by a simulation exercise on nuclear disarmament negotiation.
Day 5: Final project working sessions and concluding ceremony.

Seminar

Seminar-based sessions were organized on historical, academic, strategic, and legal discussions about nuclear weapons. Each day had four sessions, taught by the institute staff, affiliates, student assistants, and guest speakers. Each session stimulated the participants to engage in deeper personal and collective reflections on disarmament and abolition.

Simulation Exercise

Through the simulation exercise, the participants stepped into the shoes of elected local representatives discussing whether to adopt a nuclear abolition resolution at the local council. The participants were assigned to groups representing various political agendas on nuclear risk reduction strategies, such as advocates for deterrence, no-first-use, crisis prevention, or full and complete abolition. Rounds of debates were organized to address their competing priorities.

A SIGS Summer Program participant stands at a podium and gives a speech

Final Project Presentation

The participants presented their individual or collective “action plans” to carry on their engagement with the disarmament and abolition agendas in their respective environments after the program. SUA President Edward M. Feasel shared his remarks drawing the connection between nuclear abolition and SUA’s heritage. The inaugural program concluded with an award ceremony.

Outcomes

After five days of the program workshops, the participants created their post-program action plans. They were given a tentative one-year time frame to implement their action plans and report back to our future programs.

Group 1: They developed a plan to create a digital publication, which informs the youth of the current issues related to nuclear weapons and encourages them to explore practical steps to build a nuclear-free world. The online publication is designed to provide a forum for discussions, artwork, and poetry on nuclear abolition, along with expert interviews to engage a wider audience with the issues.

Group 2: They decided to create an online resource hub for the youth who seek to remain constructively engaged in topics related to nuclear weapons. Designed to be accessible to people from all backgrounds, the hub would contain educational resources, advocacy tools to promote nuclear disarmament, and materials addressing mental health issues.

Individual plans: Several participants created their individual projects, such as developing a K-12 global citizenship education curriculum to teach nuclear abolition and creating a digital tool to simulate, for educational purposes, a 3D life after a hypothetical nuclear catastrophe.