Working group 7: Nuclear Disarmament: Science, Technology & Geopolitics
Science and technology are decisive factors of modern military affairs, not least in connection to nuclear weapons. Historical case studies show that research and development (R&D) strategy and global dynamics of technology transfer are key determinants of nuclear proliferation. In other words, the possession of advanced technology and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) determines the state’s diplomacy and strategy, thereby affecting its neighbouring states as well as regional and global security. Therefore, nuclear disarmament cannot be achieved without in-depth scholarly scrutiny of the linkage between geopolitics and science & technology, and the impact of advanced emerging technologies on international affairs outcomes.
Working Group 7 focuses on the impact of science, technology and geopolitics on military affairs and analyses the escalation of military technology and weapons systems from a cross-disciplinary perspective. The intention is to scrutinize the renewed dynamics of nuclear proliferation and arms race regionally and globally, aiming to identify ways to reverse this trend and move towards global nuclear and conventional disarmament.
Working group leader: Masako Ikegami
Masako Ikegami is professor of the Department of Innovation Science at the School of Environment & Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology. Currently she is a board member of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management Japan Chapter (INMMJ) and a member of the evaluation committee of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) of the Agency of National Resources and Energy, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). She was formerly a director and professor of the Center for Pacific Asia Studies (CPAS), Stockholm University. She received her doctorate in sociology from the University of Tokyo and her Ph.D. in peace and conflict research from Uppsala University. She has been a member of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs as well as the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN), and was an Abe Fellow (2010) at the East-West Center in Washington, D.C. and Honolulu.
Her research interests range from arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation, nuclear security, science, technology & society (STS), to Asian regional security, conflict prevention and confidence building. Her major publications include ‘Building OSCA: Lessons of the OSCE and the Role of Japan’ in D. Vanoverbeke, et.al (eds) Developing EU-Japan Relations in a Changing Regional Context (Routledge 2017) and ‘The European Union’s Progressive Foreign Policy and Role in Preventing Cross-Strait Conflict’ in S. Tsang (ed.) Taiwan and the International Community (Peter Lang 2008).