The Arms Control Poseur

Five treaties now keep nuclear weapons out of most of the southern hemisphere and parts of the northern. In this episode of the Arms Control Primer, Dr Alexander Bollfrass is joined by Professor J. Luis Rodriguez, Dr Olamide Samuel and Almuntaser Albalawi. They trace each zone back to the crisis that inspired it and assess the pressures facing the treaties of Rarotonga and Pelindaba and Mongolia’s single-state status. They also explain why the decades-long push for a Middle East weapons of mass destruction free zone keeps stalling. Their verdict is that the members have kept their side of the bargain, while the nuclear-armed states have unfinished business. The views expressed are the panelist’s/ Almuntaser’s own and do not represent the views of any entity he is affiliated with.

Signed 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.

How 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.

How 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  

From 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  

In 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  

In 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  

In this episode of The Arms Control Primer, host Dr Alexander Bollfrass speaks with Dr Polina Sinovets and Darya Dolzikova about Ukraine’s nuclear history, from its role in the Soviet nuclear weapons programme to relinquishing nuclear arms in the 1990s, examining the Budapest Memorandum, nuclear coercion during Russia’s war against Ukraine, and the lessons this case holds for deterrence, non-proliferation, and security guarantees 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