About the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament
In an increasingly uncertain world, the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time. The Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament (AMC) was established in 2021 at Uppsala University, Sweden, to provide teaching, research, and policy support on nuclear disarmament.
AMC studies the whole process in which nuclear disarmament occurs; i.e., preconditions and hurdles, negotiations and decision-making, and implementation and verification.
AMC combines insights from different disciplines such as peace and conflict research, applied nuclear physics, and international law. In cooperation with other stakeholders, AMC disseminates knowledge of nuclear disarmament by holding and hosting conferences and workshops. AMC raises public awareness about nuclear disarmament and contributes to the public debate on the challenges of disarmament work.
Funding
The task to establish the national knowledge centre on nuclear disarmament was given by the Government of Sweden to Uppsala University after an evaluation by the Swedish Research Council, assisted by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority and the Swedish Defence Research Agency.
AMC is supported by funds from the Swedish national budget and Uppsala University.
AMC's director
Erik Melander is a professor at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research and the Director of the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament at Uppsala University. His previous positions include Director of the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP); core faculty member of the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Program, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Adjunct Research Professor at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Notre Dame University, USA; and Visiting Honorary Research Associate at the University of Natal, South Africa.
Erik Melander's research interests include the causes and dynamics of armed conflict, peace processes, as well as gender. He has experience from research fieldwork in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kenya, Russia, South Africa, Thailand and the Yugoslav Federation. In 1996, he served as 2nd lieutenant with the Swedish peacekeeping forces in Bosnia-Hercegovina.