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1. Better know a treaty: UN Charter
47:37||Season 6, Ep. 1Signed three weeks before the first nuclear test, the UN Charter says nothing about nuclear weapons, yet it has served as the operating system for the global order for 80 years. Dr Ben Kienzle and Dr Erin Pobjie join host Dr Alexander Bollfrass to explain how UN bodies, diplomatic forums and international law have tried to regulate the use of force and the weapons states possess and whether the system can survive today's crisis.
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The Arms Control Primer | Season 6 | Trailer
00:50||Season 6🎙️ Season 6 of Arms Control Primer starts 01 October! This season, we're diving deep into the major international arms control treaties: how they came to be, where they succeeded, and where they fell short. Along the way, we'll uncover lessons for today's efforts on arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament.
12. Better know a non-nuke: Argentina
49:37||Season 5, Ep. 12How Argentina pursued nuclear autonomy without ever building a weapon, resisted the NPT on principle and co-founded a landmark bilateral inspection regime with Brazil that rewrote the rules of regional non-proliferation.
11. Better know a non-nuke: Brazil
52:52||Season 5, Ep. 11How Brazil moved from nuclear autonomy and a secret parallel programme to regional safeguards, democratic oversight and a leading role in disarmament debates.📩 Join the conversation—follow us on X (@IISS_org), LinkedIn or Instagram (iissorg) or visit the webpage of our Strategy, Technology and Arms Control research programme: Strategy, Technology and Arms Control | IISS Research programme
10. Better know a non-nuke: South Korea
43:06||Season 5, Ep. 10From hosting US nuclear weapons during the Cold War to pursuing and abandoning its own nuclear ambitions, South Korea offers a revealing case study in deterrence, alliance politics and nuclear hedging on the Korean Peninsula.📩 Join the conversation—follow us on X (@IISS_org), LinkedIn or Instagram (iissorg) or visit the webpage of our Strategy, Technology and Arms Control research programme: Strategy, Technology and Arms Control | IISS Research programme
9. Better know a non-nuke: Belarus
36:53||Season 5, Ep. 9In this episode of The Arms Control Primer, Dr Alexander Bollfrass, Elena Sokova and Dr Alexander Sorg examine Belarus’s journey from hosting Soviet nuclear weapons to relinquishing them after independence and joining the NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon state.They explore the disarmament process of the 1990s and assess the implications of Russia’s renewed deployment of nuclear-capable systems on Belarusian territory for arms control and regional security today.📩 Join the conversation—follow us on X (@IISS_org), LinkedIn or Instagram (iissorg) or visit the webpage of our Strategy, Technology and Arms Control research programme: Strategy, Technology and Arms Control | IISS Research programme
8. Better know a non-nuke: Kazakhstan
34:16||Season 5, Ep. 8In this week’s episode of The Arms Control Primer, Dr Alexander Bollfrass speaks with Dr Togzhan Kassenova about Kazakhstan’s legacy as the Soviet Union’s primary nuclear testing site, the human and environmental toll at Semipalatinsk, and the political decision to relinquish the world’s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal. They explore Kazakhstan’s path from inheriting over 1,000 warheads to joining the NPT, shaping the Budapest Memorandum, and championing the TPNW and what its experience means for today’s nuclear risk debates. 📩 Join the conversation—follow us on X (@IISS_org), LinkedIn or Instagram (iissorg) or visit the webpage of our Strategy, Technology and Arms Control research programme: Strategy, Technology and Arms Control | IISS Research programme