Defence and Security

With six of the world’s acknowledged nuclear-armed states (China, India, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, and the US) involved in the Asian region, what are the long-term implications for deterrence and nuclear stability? What would be the effects of missile defences? Is further nuclear proliferation likely, and if so how can it be prevented? What are the prospects for denuclearisation, and under what conditions?

How do developments in the Life Sciences impact on chemical and biological weapons proliferation? What are the challenges posed by developments such as synthetic biology and nantechnology, and how can they best be addressed? How can government, NGOs, public health entities stay ahead of the potential threat? How can work at universities etc be squared with non-proliferation and security obligations? What are the implications of the blurring boundary between chemical and biological weapons?

What role will Europe play in the emerging US missile defence system? Has the transatlantic gap in threat perceptions of missile proliferation changed, and if so how? What are the strategic implications of NATO’s impending decision on missile defence? What problems remain in the architecture and command & control of a NATO/Europe missile defence? Can Russia accommodate itself to missile defence architecture in Europe?

What are the implications of the ‘nuclear energy renaissance’ for non-proliferation? Is nuclear proliferation likely to stop with Iran and North Korea, or are new chains of proliferation likely to emerge? How well-equipped is the NPT structure to cope with future dynamics? Are non-traditional methods and coalitions more likely to be effective against emerging threats? Is the prospect of nuclear and/or radiological terrorism imminent, and how can it be headed off?