News
Inaugural lecture of Malte Göttsche at TU Darmstadt
Darmstadt, Germany
28.06.2024
VeSpoTec participates at IPDNV's 10 Years of Progress celebration
Geneva, Switzerland
I had the pleasure to present a poster on @VeSPoTec at #IPNDV 10 year's celebration in Geneva this week: https://t.co/Ep37pKEi0x.#VeSPoTec is an interdisciplinary research project on #nuclear #verification. The poster adressed, i.a., #irreversibility in nuclear #disarmament. pic.twitter.com/KISrgRcjmp
— Irmie Niemeyer (@nudive_X) June 28, 2024
26.06.2024 – 27.06.2024
Dr. Niemeyer presented a poster on VeSPoTec at IPDNV’s 10 Years of Progress celebration in Geneva.
Call for Applications: VeSPoTec Winter School
Duisburg, Germany
19.06.2024
We are pleased to announce the open call for participants for our VeSPoTec Winter School taking place from 10 to 14 February 2025 in Duisburg, Germany.
For further information please contact Lena Herholz or Dr. Leonardo Bandarra.
VeSpoTec participates at AMC Annual Conference
Uppsala, Sweden
18.06.2024 – 19.06.2024
Members of VeSPoTec participated in the annual conference of the Alva Myrdal Center in Uppsala, Sweden, which took place on June 18-19.
Dr. Kretzschmar presented different perspectives on nuclear archaeology, while Mr. Rademacher was part of the panel “Multidisciplinary approaches to disarmament and non-proliferation” and representative of the consortium. Furthermore, Dr. Bandarra presented the challenges and opportunities of irreversible nuclear disarmament at the IAEA, while Mr. Schäfer participated in the panel “Instrumentation for Treaty Verification” and presented his perspective on technology, knowledge and verification.
VeSpoTec participates at BISA 2024 Conference
Birmingham, United Kingdom
04.06.2024 – 07.06.2024
Members of VeSPoTec took part in the BISA 2024 conference, which brings together international specialists in the field of international studies.
Dr. Wunderlich discussed “Clusters of normative meanings-in-use as sites of contestation” while Dr. Bandarra presented his findings on “A Cognitive Framework for Why Countries Establish Non-Nuclear or Deterrence-Based Security Orders”.
Prof. Dr. Malte Göttsche to join PRIF and TU Darmstadt
Darmstadt, Germany
15.05.2024
Prof. Malte Göttsche will join the TU Darmstadt on June 1, 2024, to take over the newly created professorship for scientific peace research, which was established in cooperation with the PRIF’s CNTR project. More information is available on the website of his new research group.
The inaugural lecture will take place on June 28, 2024 at 14:00 in the ZKS-Uhrturmhörsaal (S2|08, room 171, Hochschulstraße 4) in Darmstadt.
Panel Discussion "Die Welt nach Oppenheimer"
Aachen, Germany
16.05.2024
The NVD research group organised the panel discussion Die Welt nach Oppenheimer: Leben mit der Bombe heute (“A post-Oppenheimer world: Today’s life with the bomb”) in collaboration with RWTHextern and the VeSPoTec research consortium.
At the event, Jana Baldus (political scientist at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt), Lukas Mengelkamp (historian at University of Marburg) and Sophie Kretzschmar (physicist at RWTH Aachen University) joined moderator Max Schalz to discuss the role of nuclear weapons in the Cold War, the non-proliferation regime and its technical aspects, as well as the influence of Russian nuclear threats in the context of the war against Ukraine.
Afterwards, many questions on current topics from the audience were answered and discussed.
Workshop on Nuclear Safeguards and Irreversibility in the Reduction and Elimination of Military Nuclear Stockpiles
Vienna, Austria
08.04.2024
On 8 April 2024, the research consortium VeSPoTec (Verification in a Complex and Unpredictable World: Social, Political and Technical Processes) and the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP) held a workshop focused on the potential role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in verifying the irreversible reduction and elimination of military nuclear stockpiles. Participants included senior former and current practitioners from the field of nuclear verification and international safeguards. In addition to guided discussions, invited experts participated in a simulated negotiation in which a fictitious, formerly armed State was accused of reconstituting its nuclear weapons programme.
Presentation at the 17th Early Career Conference on International Relations
Tutzingen, Germany
20.03.2024 – 22.03.2024
Andreas Dürholt gave a presentation at the 17th Early Career Conference on International Relations of the Early Career Group International Relations of the German Political Science Association.
The presentation, entitled A Game-Theoretic Analysis of the Wagner Mutiny and its Impact on the Putin Regime, was an analysis of regime stability after a failed “rebellion” in a nuclear weapons state.
Participation at the 55th AFK-Kolloquium
Darmstadt, Germany
13.03.2024 – 15.03.2024
VeSPoTec recently participated in the 55th “AFK-Kolloquium”, themed “Disciplines of peace and conflict research in dialog: Synergies, similarities and differences with scientific-technical peace research.” which was organized by the German Association of Peace and Conflict Studies.
VeSPoTec members presented research on topics such as nuclear archaeology, nuclear proliferation, and game theoretical approaches to understanding conflicts. The conference highlighted the importance of integrating security perspectives into STEM courses and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration in academia. VeSPoTec looks forward to future collaborations and sharing insights gained from the conference.
New article on the role of new reactor technologies for nonproliferation and verification
Aachen, Germany
10.02.2024
Prof. Ralph Rotte submitted a preprint of his new article on new reactors and verification to SocArXiv. The article discusses how the propagation of new reactor technologies, particularly small modular reactors (SMRs), amid international great power competition and subsequent global and economic conflicts, poses risks to the stability of the nuclear nonproliferation regime.
Living with the Bomb: Nuclear Order in Crisis - Panel Discussion
Duisburg/Essen, Germany
18.01.2024
The global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime has long been in crisis. Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has dealt a fatal blow to many of its fundamental norms. The lecture series concludes with a panel discussion on the future of the nuclear order, featuring both pessimistic and optimistic voices from academia, politics and civil society.
First VeSPotec Table Top Exercise
Aachen, Germany
13.12.2023. – 14.12.2023
On December 13 and 14, the VeSPoTec-Team welcomed nine technical experts from six different countries for a tabletop exercise on nuclear safeguards in Aachen. The exercise focused on the role that different types of safeguards-relevant information play for evaluating a State in the context of their safeguards obligations through a series of role-played discussions.
Living with the Bomb: The Bomb and Germany - Panel Discussion
Duisburg/Essen, Germany
07.12.2023
The second event focuses on the individual perspective on nuclear weapons. On one hand, it considers the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that the use of nuclear weapons would entail. Additionally, we will explore how nuclear threats are currently Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, nuclear armament and the need for defence policy autonomy have been increasingly debated in Europe. The third event focuses on Germany and brings together experts from academia and civil society for a dialogue. The debate aims to highlight the diversity of opinions on nuclear non-proliferation, deterrence and disarmament in Germany and bring together people from different parts of society.
Living with the Bomb: Putin and the Bomb in our Heads
Duisburg/Essen, Germany
23.11.2023
The second event focuses on the individual perspective on nuclear weapons. On one hand, it considers the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that the use of nuclear weapons would entail. Additionally, we will explore how nuclear threats are currently being used as a means of psychological warfare and the resulting consequences. It is important to avoid using language that is biased or emotional, and to maintain a formal register throughout the text. The text should also adhere to conventional structure and formatting, with clear and concise sentences that create a logical flow of information.
VeSPoTec at RWTH science night
Aachen, Germany
10.11.2023
Members of VeSPoTec participated in the RWTH science night. Besides discussing the interdisciplinary approach to nuclear verification research, the members invited the visitors to participate in a nuclear dismantlement exercise (“Delicious Dismantlement Exercise”) to try a cookie dismantlement themselves and learn about the processes behind nuclear disarmament verification.
Event series kick-off event
Duisburg, Germany
19.10.2023
The public event series “Living with the bomb“, co-organized by VeSPoTec and University of Duisburg-Essen, started with a kick-off lecture and discussion with Malte Göttsche and Carmen Wunderlich entitled “The bomb for beginners”.
Participation in parliamentary evening on "nuclear dangers"
Berlin, Germany
17.10.2023
Malte Göttsche and Sophie Kretzschmar participated as experts in the parliamentary evening on “nuclear dangers”, organized by the German Physical Society, where they discussed with members of the German parliament and their staff and were available to their questions on current developments in nuclear arms control and verification.
Presentation at the 40th anniversary symposium of Wissenschaft & Frieden
Bonn, Germany
06.10.2023
Lukas Rademacher held a presentation at the 40th anniversary Wissenschaft & Frieden (science & peace) symposium on “How do you verify nuclear disarmament?”.
Presentation and Workshop at Science – Peace – Security Conference
Darmstadt, Germany
20.09.2023
At the bi-annual conference Science-Peace-Security, VeSPoTec was present with two contributions: A presentation by Sophie Kretzschmar on “Reconstructing nuclear histories – a field study” and a workshop by the whole VeSPoTec consortium entitled “Thinking about the future: Nuclear verification in a complex world”.
Presentation at the Alva Myrdal Center Conference
Uppsala, Sweden
14.06.2023
Sophie Kretzschmar gave an overview on the VeSPoTec consortium at the Alva Myrdal Center cross-disciplinary conference entitled “Nuclear verification research: bringing together social and natural sciences”.
Presentations at INMM & ESARDA joint Annual Meeting
Vienna, Austria
23.05.2023 – 25.05.2023
At the Joint INMM and ESARDA Annual Meeting 2023 in Vienna, Linda Ostermann presented a paper on “Verification Regimes: Challenges of Knowing and Deciding within Knowledge Infrastructures”, while Sophie Kretzschmar presented first insights into how documentation of a past nuclear programm can be used for verification.
The conference paper presented by Linda Ostermann, co-authored with Julian Schäfer, Malte Göttsche and Stefan Böschen, discusses what knowledge infrastructures of nuclear verification are and why knowledge production should be understood as embedded in knowledge infrastructures. It also explores what factors potentially limit knowledge in nuclear verification and what research steps are needed to further understand knowledge infrastructures.
The ideas presented by Sophie Kretzschmar are based on an initial research visit to Karlsruhe, Germany, where the NVD team had access to the archives of two former civil nuclear reactors that operated between the 1960s and 1980s.
The corresponding conference paper “Reconstructing nuclear histories: a field study”, co-authored with Malte Göttsche, will be available with the conference proceedings.
Invited lecture in the University of Sheffield
Sheffield, United Kingdom
02.05.2023
Leonardo Bandarra gave an invited lecture at the University of Sheffield entitled: “Dismantling the bomb: working on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament”.
Presentation at Belfer Center's Working Group
Hiroshima, Japan
27.04.2023 – 30.04.2023
At the Inaugural Conference of Harvard Belfer Center’s Working Group “Beyond Nuclear Deterrence”, Leonardo Bandarra gave a presentation entitled “Verify to Trust, Distrust to Dissuade” and participated in the G7 Hiroshima Summit Related Event “Rethinking Nuclear Deterrence — Approached for Moving Beyond”.
Julian Schäfer and Linda Ostermann get elected as AFK Young Researchers' spokespersons and present on interdisciplinarity at Young AFK's conference
Berlin, Germany
30.03.2023
Julian Schäfer and Linda Ostermann have been elected as two of four new spokespersons of the young researchers of the German Association for Peace and Conflict Studies (AFK) for the next two years (2023-2025). The whole VeSPoTec-Team wishes to congratulate!
In addition, Linda Ostermann and Julian Schäfer each gave a presentation on interdisciplinarity in peace and conflict studies. In his contribution, Julian Schäfer emphasized the boundary object as an enabler or framework for interdisciplinary knowledge production in peace and conflict research, while Linda Ostermann dealt with the opportunities and challenges of integrating social and natural science peace and conflict research, both referring to their previous experiences in the VeSPoTec project.
Presentation at the DPG Spring Meeting
Dresden, Germany
22.03.2023
Dr. Kretzschmar presented VeSPoTec with its integrated-interdisciplinary approach at the 86th Annual Conference of the DPG (DPG Spring Meeting, SMuK) in Dresden. The presentation was given in the Physics and Disarmament group.
The abstract of the talk can be found here.
Presentation at the Joint Technical Meeting of the ESARDA VTM and INMM OSGI working groups
15.01.2023
Julian Schäfer and Linda Ostermann gave a presentation at the Joint Technical Meeting oft the ESARDA VTM and INMM OSGI working groups. They presented their first thoughts on the analysis of knowledge infrastructures within verification regimes to a diverse audience of technical experts.
Malte Göttsche gets awarded with the Nuclear-Free Future Award
13.12.2022
Prof. Göttsche got awarded with the Nuclear-Free Future Award (NFF) 2022 in the category Solutions.
The NFF is honoring people worldwide who are working for a future free of nuclear power and nuclear weapons since 1998.
The official NFF announcement can be found here.
Presentation at the conference "The Complexity of Nuclear Order(ing)"
26.10.2022 – 28.10.2022
Leonardo Bandarra held a presentation, entitled “Centripetal Forces of Change: Dependence Theory, Institutional Bargaining, and Periphery-Driven Ordering in Nuclear Politics”, at the conference “The Complexity of Nuclear Order(ing)”, funded by the German Peace Studies Association (AFK).
Tenth Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
New York, USA
01.08.2022 – 26.08.2022
Members of the VeSPoTec team attended the 2020 NPT RevCon. They participated in discussions about the role of verification on global non-proliferation and disarmament regime.
First Meeting of State Parties (MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Vienna, Austria
21.07.2022 – 23.07.2022
Members of the VeSPoTec team attended the first TPNW MSP. They participated in discussions about the role of verification for a global non-proliferation and disarmament regime.
RWTH Press Release on research association VeSPoTec
Aachen, Germany
15.02.2022
“A new research consortium in peace research. The RWTH is coordinating an interdisciplinary research project with the aim of building trust in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation […].”
You can find the full press release here in German and English.