Disarmament The Human Factor

Disarmament: The Human Factor covers the proceedings of a colloquium on the Societal Context for Disarmament, sponsored by UNITAR and Planetary Citizens and held at the United Nations, New York. The book focuses on the dynamics of disarmament and security policies, including the political and military implications of disarmament. The selection first discusses the neglected human factors of disarmament. The exchanges focus on humanizing the approach to disarmament, conditions and obsolete perceptions, and approaches on disarmament and international security. The book also ponders on global community values, such as globalism in space, time, global institutions, and education. The text examines the psychodynamics of arms and peace races and the psychological considerations in survival in a nuclear world. The manuscript also tackles the requirements for alternative mechanisms in guaranteeing international peace and security under progressive disarmament and the remarks of Ambassador Piero Vinci on the need to instill measures to effectively imposed disarmament. The publication is a dependable source of data for readers and international security experts interested in the dynamics of disarmament and international security policies.

This book attempts to look into the genesis of security culture as a concept which emerged with the recognition of the role of the human factor in the context of security. It traces the rapid evolution of security culture into a multi-functional discipline reinforced by supplementary tools such as assessment and enhancement methodologies, reviews practical steps to harmonize nuclear safety and security culture as well as recommends its practical application to address insider threats and their consequences. In addition, it demonstrates how to tailor the generic model of nuclear security culture to meet specific needs of diverse facilities and activities in different countries. Finally, the book discusses several challenges which need to be addressed to make security culture a user-friendly, universal, and sustainable instrument to turn the perception of the human factor as a liability into an asset of nuclear security.

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.

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.

This book chronicles the genesis of the negotiations that led to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which challenged the established nuclear order. The work provides readers with an authoritative account of the complex evolution of the ‘Humanitarian Initiative’ (HI) and the negotiation history of the TPNW. It includes a close analysis of internal strategy documents and communications in the author’s possession which trace the tactical and political decisions of a small group of state actors. By demonstrating the unacceptable humanitarian consequences and uncontrollable risks that these weapons pose to everyone’s security, the HI convinced many states to ban nuclear weapons and reject the policy of nuclear deterrence as unsustainable and illegitimate. As such, this book is a case-study of multilateral diplomacy and cooperation between state and civil society actors. It also contains a full discussion of both sides of the nuclear argument and assesses the extent to which the HI and the TPNW have moved the dial and present opportunities for transformational change. This book will be of much interest to students of nuclear disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation, diplomacy, global governance, and International Relations in general.

This text is designed to provide students and others with a theoretical and factual base for understanding the complex questions posed by continued reliance on nuclear weapons to protect geopolitical interests. In Part One, the authors examine the destructiveness and cost of modern nuclear arsenals and offer both normative and systemic explanations

The Human Factor tells the dramatic story about the part played by political leaders - particularly the three very different personalities of Gorbachev, Reagan and Thatcher - in ending the standoff that threatened the future of all humanity