Working group 2: International Measures for Compliance to Nuclear Disarmament Regimes
Leader: Dr Peter Wallensteen
Sanctions are largely tied to the process of preventing proliferation: negative ones to get the party in question to initiate discussions, and relaxation of negative sanctions as concessions by the sanctions’ senders. However, it seems reasonable to suggest that for agreements to emerge in non-proliferation cases substantial concessions will have to be made, which could be viewed as positive sanctions. These are largely assumed to relate to security concerns (e.g. integrating the non-proliferation target into a regional or global setting) or economic matters (e.g. allowing the non-proliferation target to retain or develop its nuclear power capacity).
The aim of Working Group 2 is to investigate the role of sanctions in making countries join and adhere to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or other non-proliferation arrangements. At the same time, for a complete understanding, there is a need to also investigate cases where sanctions have not led to parties joining or adhering to the NPT. Through the study of historical cases and current situations, we hope to establish an empirical basis for how sanctions can contribute to non-proliferation or other disarmament initiatives.
Working group leader: Dr Peter Wallensteen
Dr Peter Wallensteen is Professor emeritus of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University and Richard G. Starmann Sr. Research Professor Emeritus of Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute, University of Notre Dame, USA. He initiated and directed the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), 1978-2015 and was the head of the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, 1972-1999. He was the first holder of the Dag Hammarskjöld Chair at Uppsala University, 1985-2012, and of the Richard G. Starmann Chair at University of Notre Dame, 2006-2018. Since 2021 he is Deputy Chair of the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament, Uppsala University and leads its working group on sanctions for prevention of nuclear proliferation.
The volume Peter Wallensteen: A Pioneer in Making Peace Researchable (Springer 2021) explains his involvement in peace research, and presents ten of the major research fields he has contributed to. One deals with experiences of peace agreement and his Understanding Conflict Resolution is now in its 5thedition (2019, with editions in Arabic and Korean). Another major field has been the use of sanctions for different purposes, including ending wars and preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. In September 2022, he co-authored and published a book detailing Alva Myrdal’s invaluable contributions to nuclear test bans and non-proliferation alongside Armend Bekaj.