Weapons Governance and International Security

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Session Description

This roundtable explores the governance of weapons in contemporary and historical international affairs. Why are some weapons regulated or banned but not others? How do politics, technology, and norms intersect to produce different governance outcomes and with what consequences? Which governance initiatives have been successful and why? Bringing together a broad range of scholars of conventional and unconventional weapons, this roundtable seeks to understand the different forms weapons governance can take and why, the key actors in this area over time, and the implications for international peace and stability. Security, politics, and technology tend to exert varied pressures for and against regulation, influence the form regulation may take, and its effectiveness. This roundtable therefore sets out to generate conversations among scholars of different weapons technologies. Participants include experts on nuclear weapons, drones, cyber weapons, bioweapons, and conventional weapons. We compare the goals, structures, practices, and efficacy of varied forms of governance, as well as factors influential in determining the form and trajectory of different regulatory approaches.

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 19: International Security

Chair

• Naomi Egel Cornell University

Presenters

• Jennifer L. Erickson Boston College

• Gregory Koblentz George Mason University

• Jon R. Lindsay University of Toronto

• David Traven California State University, Fullerton

• Mariana Budjeryn HKS Belfer Center