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FIRST PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE
in our Blog Series
New Perspectives on Nuclear Verification

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VeSPoTec is a project by:

The research consortium VeSPoTecVerification in a complex and unpredictable world: social, political and technical processes is a cooperation between the RWTH Aachen University, the Forschungszentrum Jülich, the TU Darmstadt and the University of Duisburg-Essen.
Associated partners include the University of Vienna and the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP).
VeSPoTec is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR, formerly BMBF).

What is Verification?

Verification is the process of gathering and analysing information to assess whether other parties comply with their commitments. This way, it allows to build confidence and ensures an effective implementation of international agreements.

Our Mission

VeSPoTec’s mission is to build bridges between the natural and social sciences to strengthen and advance the knowledge on verification in the context of peace and conflict research. 

Members of VeSPoTec in March 2024.

Why an interdisciplinary approach?

Given the complexity and dynamics of the challenge of nuclear verification, the interaction of different disciplinary perspectives is indispensable for understanding the phenomenon and for developing sustainable and applicable solutions. The specificity of the project therefore lies in the synergy of inter- and transdisciplinary work among the partners with their complementary foci on natural, social, political and cultural sciences as well as practice.

Blog

Abstract Representation of Verification in Nuclear Politics. AI-generated image (using NightCafe’s HiDream I1 Fast)

When Prestige Overrides Proof: How Mistrust Undermines Nuclear Verification in South Asia

By Kashaf Sohail. When we talk about “verification” in nuclear politics, most people picture inspectors counting warheads, satellites tracking fissile materials, or monitoring treaty compliance. But verification is more than a technical checklist. At its core, it builds the shared knowledge required for stability, allowing

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Abstract Representation of ABACC's Efforts on Verification. AI generated image (using NightCafe’s HiDream I1 Fast)

Nuclear Verification in the South American Cone: the case of ABACC.

By Natalia Luers. ABACC, the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials, was created after Argentina and Brazil shifted from nuclear rivalry to cooperation, turning their foreign-policy convergence into a verification-based mechanism that reinforced Latin America's peace. In 1991, after both countries

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Abstract Representation of Verification in Space. AI generated image (using NightCafe’s HiDream I1 Fast)

Passing Through or Power Play? The Verification Gap in the Space–Nuclear Nexus

By Raoul Cardellini Leipertz. Last spring, a lone Russian satellite drifting through an unexpected low Earth orbit set off alarms from Washington to Brussels. Was it an innocuous on-orbit experiment or the first sign of an exo-atmospheric strike platform? Although officials later softened the most sensational claims, the incident

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For previous Blog posts, please click here.

Team

Principal Investigators

Dr. Irmgard Niemeyer
Nuclear Waste Management (IEK-6)
Forschungszentrum Jülich
i.niemeyer@fz-juelich.de

Prof. Dr. Ralph Rotte
International Relations
RWTH Aachen

rotte@ipw.rwth-aachen.de

Dr. Carmen Wunderlich
Institute of Political Science
University Duisburg-Essen
carmen.wunderlich@uni-due.de

Managing Director

Administrative Assistant

Melanie Baumann
Human Technology Center
RWTH Aachen
melanie.baumann@humtec.rwth-aachen.de

Scientific Staff

Dr. Ing. Neslihan Yanikömer
Institute of Fusion Energy and Nuclear Waste Management (IFN)
Forschungszentrum Jülich
n.yanikoemer@fz-juelich.de

Dr. Kim Westerich-Fellner
Institute of Fusion Energy and Nuclear Waste Management (IFN)
Forschungszentrum Jülich
k.westerich-fellner@fz-juelich.de

Dr. Robin E. Möser
Science for Nuclear Diplomacy
Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF)

TU Darmstadt
robin.moeser@prif.org

Student Assistants

Mette Marie Elisabeth Wohlfahrt, B.A.
Institute of Political Science
University Duisburg-Essen
mette.wohlfahrt@stud.uni-due.de

Josias Bruderer, B.A.
Human Technology Center
RWTH Aachen
josias.bruderer@humtec.rwth-aachen.de

Further Partners

Dr. Anna Weichselbraun
Scientific Partner
University Vienna

Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
Practical Partner
Contact: Elena Sokova

See our former team members here.

Advisory Board

 Dr. Hassan Elbahtimy
Centre for Science and Security Studies, King’s College

Dr. Angela Kane
Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP)

Dr. Marco Marzo
Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC)

Dr. Pavel Podvig
UN Institute for Disarmament Research

Laura Rockwood
Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-proliferation (VCDNP)

Amy Woolf
Royal United Services Institute

Contact

Feel free to contact us at vespotec@rwth-aachen.de for questions and further information about the project.

Knowing in the Nuclear Weapons World — Second Phase of VeSPoTec funded!

01.12.2025

We’re delighted to announce that the second phase of VeSPoTec under the title “Knowing in the Nuclear Weapons World” is funded. The research consortium continues as a cooperation between RWTH Aachen University (HumTec/SoTec, IPW), PRIF Leibniz-Institut für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung, Forschungszentrum Jülich (IFN-2, Nukleare Entsorgung), and University of Duisburg-Essen (IFP).

Stay tuned for upcoming news!

Carmen Wunderlich receives the 2025 Political Science Teaching Award

20.11.2025, Darmstadt, Germany

Congrats to our PI Carmen Wunderlich for receiving the Political Science Teaching Award 2025 for her seminar on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation & global security! With her exceptional teaching approach, she is empowering students to critically engage with political developments.

Carmen Wunderlich receiving the Political Science Teaching Award 2025
Carmen Wunderlich receiving the Political Science Teaching Award 2025

BMFTR Status Conference on Peace and Conflict Research

4.-5. November 2025, Bonn, Germany

On 4 and 5 November, we participated in the BMFTR Status Conference on Peace and Conflict Research in Bonn. This conference brought together numerous research projects funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space to better understand the causes, dynamics and consequences of conflicts.

The BMFTR Status Conference is an important step towards better networking within the peace and conflict research community. We look forward to sharing our findings and discussing strategies for knowledge transfer in order to make a positive contribution to global peacekeeping. 🕊️🌍

Check out the funding line to strengthen peace and conflict research.

VeSPoTec at the Comoros: Insights on Leonardo Bandarras travel

October 2025, Moroni, Comoros

Insights on Leonardo Bandarras travel to Moroni, Comoros, to take part in the International Peace Forum and to attend the launch of the Salam Institute for Peace and Security:

A look back at the Science – Peace – Security ’25 (SPS ’25) Conference

10.-12.09.2025, Aachen, Germany

We’re looking back to the Science – Peace – Security ’25 (SPS ’25) Conference, hosted by the VeSPoTec research consortium and organized by Forschungszentrum Jülich. Some first impressions on this successful event:

For previous news, please click here.