Bounding Nuclear Exceptionalism

Project Information

BNE

Grant agreement ID: 101027421

DOI

10.3030/101027421

Project terminated on 31 July 2023

EC signature date 8 December 2021

Start date 1 September 2022

End date 31 August 2024

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 184 707,84

EU contribution

€ 184 707,84

Coordinated by

FONDATION NATIONALE DES SCIENCES POLITIQUES
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BNE (Bounding Nuclear Exceptionalism)

Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2024-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Over the last few years, the nuclear and non-nuclear world have become increasingly intertwined, whether through the incorporation of conventional capabilities into nuclear doctrines, the pursuit of dual-use technologies, and the interwoven nature of nuclear and conventional command-and-control systems. Existing scholarship, however, has struggled to understand the conditions under which nuclear weapons are distinct from or are entangled with conventional capabilities, because it has always assumed that nuclear weapons were something different, special, and thus exceptional. Ever since the invention of the “bomb,” scholarship has operated under an assumption of nuclear exceptionalism. This has created a situation of mutual neglect within the discipline, in which nuclear and conventional scholars have each crafted their own disciplinary spaces, each with their own theories and without much interaction between them. BNE’s primary goal was to investigate how practices of nuclear exceptionalism shape nuclear weapons policy options, as well as reflect upon a more integrated way of thinking across the nuclear-conventional divide. Specifically, BNE focused on scholarly practices of nuclear exceptionalism, studying how these practices have emerged, how they have changed over time, how they link to power within the international system, and what their effects are on international politics. By bridging the gap between the nuclear and non-nuclear realm, this project helps to understand how and why countries make certain choices in constructing their military arsenals and reflect upon ways to disrupt the new arms race.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project resulted in one peer-review academic article and one edited book chapter. Other work will be submitted for review over the next few months. This includes the book manuscript. The project further resulted in an op-ed piece. Finally, the research was disseminated in scholarly meetings and public-facing workshops and seminars.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

First, BNE mapped out practices of nuclear exceptionalism. In an edited volume chapter, for example, the role of nuclear exceptionalism within the establishment of and challenges to the nuclear order was discussed. In addition to tracing the phenomenon of nuclear exceptionalism, BNE aimed to offer a novel way of thinking about nuclear exceptionalism, particularly by re-embedding nuclear weapons within broader scholarship. Turning this goal into practice, a peer-reviewed article, identified the commonalities between the COVID-19 crisis, climate change, and the challenges posed by nuclear weapons. Bringing together such divergent issue areas can help to identify broad and sometimes even surprising patterns, in this case the repeated promises to tackle these challenges, the claims of impossibilities made by policymakers to explain why the promises were not fulfilled, and the implications of the lack of adequate action for the notion of good faith.

Second, BNE searched for a better understanding of phenomena that straddle the nuclear and the non-nuclear world, including the ways in which countries construct their military arsenals. By integrating nuclear and conventional elements in the study of countries’ military arsenals, BNE is able to better account for why and how countries choose to build or purchase particular weapon systems—something that existing theories, which focus either on nuclear or conventional capabilities, cannot do. Turning this objective into practice, BNE has allowed the fellow to make significant progress on her book project, which tackles the development of missiles defenses in the United States, United Kingdom, France, and India. Specifically, it has furthered the fellow’s thinking about the connections between the nuclear and non-nuclear aspects of missile defense. The book is expected to be finalized by the end of this academic year. The European Commission will be credited for its support to the project.

Third, BNE foregrounded the realm of narratives, ideas, and imagination as important explanatory variables for the current state of global security, the challenges and disruptions within that system, and the possibility for change. For example, the book project focusses on how domestic actors’ ideas about the future of warfare shape their preferences for military technology. Specifically, the fellow identified actors’ ideas about the future security environment and their theory of victory as determinative factors in the formation of such preferences. In doing so, BNE has added a new layer of explanations—typically overlooked by traditional security studies. The latter tend to employ material and rationalist approaches instead.

Fourth, BNE has unearthed new empirical insights with regard to the development of missile defenses. During the BNE project, the fellow spent significant time in various archives in the United Kingdom and France. As a result, the project has not only obtained a better understanding of the development of capabilities and doctrine among key European players, but it has also been able to produce a novel perspective on the ongoing arms race—in Europe and beyond.

Researcher