Working group 2: International Measures for Compliance to Nuclear Disarmament Regimes
Most regimes for the control of nuclear weapons include international measures, such as sanctions, to promote negotiations, agreements and their implementation. Sanctions are largely tied to the process of preventing proliferation: negative ones to get the party in question to initiate discussions, and relaxation of negative sanctions as concessions by the sanctions’ senders. However, it seems reasonable to suggest that for agreements to emerge in non-proliferation cases, substantial concessions have to be made, which could be viewed as positive sanctions. These are largely assumed to relate to security concerns (e.g. integrating the non-proliferation target into a regional or global setting) or economic matters (e.g. allowing the non-proliferation target to retain or develop its nuclear power capacity). This interplay between the imposition of sanctions and their subsequent relief is often accompanied by a process of verification, to ensure that the agreements reached are being upheld.
The aim of Working Group 2 is to investigate the role of sanctions in making countries join and adhere to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or other non-proliferation arrangements. At the same time, for a complete understanding, there is a need to also investigate cases where sanctions have not led to parties joining or adhering to the NPT. Through the study of historical cases and current situations, we work towards establishing an empirical overview of how sanctions can contribute to non-proliferation or other disarmament initiatives.
Research topics
- The efficacy of sanctions in preventing nuclear weapons proliferation.
- Comparing negative and positive sanctions in prevention of nuclear proliferation.
- Developing the foundations for sanctions data.
- Exploring international verification regimes.
Working group leader: Dr Peter Wallensteen
Dr Peter Wallensteen is Professor emeritus of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University and Richard G. Starmann Sr. Research Professor Emeritus of Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute, University of Notre Dame, USA. He initiated and directed the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) 1978-2015 and was the head of the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, 1972-1999. He was the first holder of the Dag Hammarskjöld Chair at Uppsala University, 1985-2012, and of the Richard G. Starmann Chair at University of Notre Dame, 2006-2018. Since 2021 he is Deputy Chair of the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament, Uppsala University, and leads its working group on sanctions for prevention of nuclear proliferation.
The volume Peter Wallensteen: A Pioneer in Making Peace Researchable (Springer 2021) explains his involvement in peace research and presents ten of the major research fields he has contributed to. One deals with experiences of peace agreements and his Understanding Conflict Resolution is now in its 6th edition (2023, with editions in Arabic and Korean). Another major field has been the use of sanctions for different purposes, including ending wars and preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. In 2022, Peter Wallensteen and Armend Bekaj co-authored a book, detailing Alva Myrdal’s contributions to nuclear weapons negotiations. In 2024 Wallensteen and Bekaj published their edited volume on Sanctions and Nuclear Weapons, a result of the deliberations of Working Group 2.
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Researcher: Dr Armend Bekaj
Dr Armend Bekaj is a Researcher at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research (DPCR), Uppsala University, Sweden. He combines academic and policy experience on peace and conflict, and democracy vs autocracy, with a focus on sanctions, verification and nuclear disarmament/non-proliferation.
His latest publications include the books Sanctions for Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation: Moving Forward (co-editor with Peter Wallensteen), and Former Combatants, Democracy, and Institution-Building in Transitory Societies: Kosovo and North Macedonia.
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Working Group Members
- Thomas Biersteker, Targeted Sanctions Consortium (TSC), Geneva Graduate Institute, Switzerland
- Rishika Chauhan, King’s College London, UK
- David Cortright, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, USA
- João Paulo Nicolini Gabriel, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil
- Francesco Giumelli, Department of International Relations and International Organization (IRIO), University of Groningen, The Netherlands
- Doğukan Cansın Karakuş, European Centre for Minority Issues, Flensburg, Germany
- George A. Lopez, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, USA
- Trita Parsi, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Washington DC, USA
- Clara Portela, Law School, University of Valencia, Spain
- Gilberto M. A. Rodrigues, Federal University of ABC-UFABC, Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Sarah Tzinieris, King’s College London, UK
- Jo-Ansie van Wyk, Department of Political Sciences, University of South Africa, South Africa
- Rizwan Zeb, Air War College Institute (AWCI) Karachi, Pakistan
During autumn 2025, the working group is bolstered by research assistants Eva Branchereau and William Kelly.
Publications
Forthcoming
- Armend Bekaj and Peter Wallensteen (eds) Verification in nuclear arms control: between compliance and controversy, London: Routledge.
–An inter-disciplinary, collaborative project of all AMC working groups.
2025
- Doğukan Cansın Karakuş. Incentives and Trust-building Over Sanction: Turkey and Brazil's Mediation of the Tehran Agreement Amid the Iranian Nuclear Crisis
- Bekaj, Armend. Sanctions for nuclear non-proliferation, in Portela, Clara, Andrea Charron and Mirko Sossai (eds) Elgar Encyclopedia of International Sanctions. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 268-270. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035339532.
- Peter Wallensteen and Armend Bekaj, Policy brief. Preventing Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: The Role of Sanctions - published by University of Notre Dame - Keough School of Global Affairs.
2024
- Book Edited by Armend Bekaj and Peter Wallensteen: Sanctions for Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Moving Forward, Routledge. Review: Pensamiento Propio (a journal edited in Argentina with broad circulation in Latin America)
2022
- Book Edited by Peter Wallensteen and Armend Bekaj, Alva Myrdal: A Pioneer in Nuclear Disarmament, Springer International Publishing
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Contact
- For questions about the working group's research and activities:
- Peter Wallensteen
- Armend Bekaj