Politics/International Relations: Will There Be Many More States With Nuclear Weapons? With Dr Jan Ruzicka From Aberystwyth University

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Nuclear weapons are back at the centre stage of international politics. Since the start of its war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons trying to intimidate and coerce both Ukraine and its Western supporters. The United States and China are modernizing and expanding their nuclear arsenals. Britain and France have reached agreement on unprecedented levels of nuclear weapons collaboration. India and Pakistan, both nuclear armed states, had very nearly gone to war earlier this year. Iran and Israel did fight a brief war in June at the core of which were Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Meanwhile, international agreements and treaties limiting nuclear weapons arsenals and the number of states possessing nuclear weapons are facing multiple difficulties and their future is openly questioned. In several states that do not currently have nuclear weapons, such as South Korea or Poland, the option of getting them has been voiced and discussed.

In this event, students will get a chance to learn more about these recent developments. The session should enable students to understand whether we might be headed for a world of many more nuclear armed states and what might such a world look like.

Lecturer Profile: Dr Jan Ruzicka is Lecturer in Security Studies and Director of the David Davies Memorial Institute in the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University. Jan will be supported during the session by his colleague, Dr James Vaughan, who is Lecturer in International History at Aberystwyth.

Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom, or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. There is no charge to take part.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but access to the Headliner recording will continue to be accessible.

Suitable for: Aged 16+ pre-university students studying or with an interest in studying Politics, International Relations and related subjects. Teachers and members of school staff, as always, are welcome too and participants can join as individuals from school/college or home, or as a group from school/college.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the topic and discuss some of the key elements in advance. Students can also think about questions they have about studying at university level.

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Zoom and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below:

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