U.S. Engagement in the Humanitarian Consequences of Nuclear Weapons

Abstract

This project seeks to encourage more extensive public understanding of and more effective U.S. engagement with the emerging international debate about the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons. The project will commission five papers focusing on: 1) the laws of armed conflict, ethics and nuclear targeting; 2) the record of successes and failures in environmental clean-up of nuclear sites; 3) whether conventional military options and deterrence can reduce the role of nuclear weapons in US military policy; 4) the relationship between efforts to “delegitimize” nuclear weapons and nuclear nonproliferation activities; and 5) U.S. public opinion on nuclear weapons and lessons learned for the humanitarian consequences debate. The first activity of the project will be a workshop at Stanford University, at which authors will present draft papers to a group of experts. The second component will be a public and policy community outreach conference in Washington D.C., involving the presentation of final papers to the public and to government officials and policy think tank analysts. The third activity will be a meeting at U.S. Strategic Command in Omaha, NE, to present the findings to high-level military leaders. Authors will be encouraged to publish their findings in leading journals and newspapers, and Dr. Sagan will publish an op-ed piece or policy article in a major journal. The objectives of the project are to produce research and writing to improve public understanding of the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and to develop strategies to permit more effective U.S. government and U.S. public engagement in the global humanitarian consequences debate.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Aug 10, 2016
Source ID
N002441610035

Entities

People

  • Scott Sagan

Organizations

  • Stanford University
  • United States Navy

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security
  • Strategic Security Studies
  • Technical Research and Report Writing.