Developing Empirical Insights into Irreversibility in Nuclear Arms Control and Disarmament

Abstract

This second special issue on nuclear irreversibility shifts the focus from the conceptual to the empirical. It aims to explore how dynamics linked to irreversibility have played out in practice by examining arms control and disarmament efforts in South Africa, Kazakhstan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and US-Soviet/Russian contexts. This article begins by outlining new research and developments related to irreversibility in arms control and disarmament. It then reflects on the approach taken in developing empirical insights into the practice of irreversibility. Finally, the article reflects on some of the themes that emerge from the contributions made to this special issue.

Keywords

• Nuclear disarmament
• arms control
• nuclear weapons
• North Korea
• Kazakhstan
• South Africa