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.
