Overview
Offers new empirical research on an underexplored area of international security
Highlights the challenges in verifying nuclear disarmament
Demonstrates the importance of human factors in verification
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
- Nuclear weapons
- verification
- Disarmament
- Trust and confidence
- Global Zero
- Nuclear Weapons Free World
- Arms Control
- verification regime
- safeguards regime
- non-compliance
- nuclear warhead dismantlement
- chain-of-custody
- inspections
- information barriers
- trust
- confidence
- human factors
- simulation
- data collection
- verification protocol
About this book
This book explores how human factors, in particular the contested notion of trust, influence the conduct and practice of arms control verification.
In the nuclear arena, disarmament verification is often viewed purely in terms of a dispassionate, scientific process. Yet this view is fundamentally flawed since the technical impossibility of 100 per cent verification opens the door to a host of complex issues and questions regarding the process and its outcomes. Central among these is the fact that those involved in any verification inspection process must inevitably conduct their work in a space that falls well short of absolute certainty. The lines between scientific enquiry and human psychology can become blurred and outcomes have the potential to be influenced by perceptions.
Drawing on extensive empirical evidence, the authors explore the complex interplay between evidence-based judgements and perceptions of intentions that frames the science of verification. The book provides new insights into the role and influence of human factors in the verification process, shedding light on this ‘blind spot’ of verification research. It is an invaluable resource for practitioners, academics and students working in arms control and disarmament.Reviews
“The book successfully explores a unique, understudied aspect of the verification process. The authors clearly articulate the influences of human factors in the process, and the simulations they conducted provide substantial insights into those influences, supporting the overall conclusions.” (Steven Brunts, H-Net Reviews Humanities and Social Sciences, January, 2020)
Authors and Affiliations
About the authors
Professor Wyn Bowen is Head of the School of Security Studies at King’s College London. He is author of Living on the Edge: Iran and the Practice of Nuclear Hedging (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016)
Dr Hassan Elbahtimy is a Post-Doctoral Researcher within the Centre for Science and Security Studies. He was previously a Senior Researcher at VERTIC and worked on the Arms Control Desk of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Dr Christopher Hobbs is Co-Director of the Centre for Science and Security Studies and a Reader in Science and Security in the War Studies Department at King’s College London. He is author of Exploring Regional Responses to a Nuclear Iran: Nuclear Dominoes? (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) and editor of Open Source Intelligence in the Twenty-First Century: New Approaches and Challenges (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014)
Matthew Moran is Co-Director of the Centre for Science and Security Studies and a Reader in International Security in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. He is author of Living on the Edge: Iran and the Practice of Nuclear Hedging (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) and Exploring Regional Responses to a Nuclear Iran: Nuclear Dominoes? (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Trust in Nuclear Disarmament Verification
Authors: Wyn Q. Bowen, Hassan Elbahtimy, Christopher Hobbs, Matthew Moran
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40988-7
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-40987-0Published: 31 January 2018
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-82234-1Published: 04 June 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-40988-7Published: 23 January 2018
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: IX, 176
Topics: Political Science and International Relations, general, Military and Defence Studies, International Security Studies