First announcement of an International Conference on:
NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION:
HISTORICAL APPRAISAL AND PRESENT PROBLEMS
Florence (Italy) October 4-5, 2007.
Organized by:
- Max
Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin, Germany
- University
of Florence, Italy, Department of Physics
- University of Rome-3,
Italy
- Machiavelli Center for Cold War Studies, Italy
- INES International
Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility
- IPB International
Peace Bureau
Nuclear Proliferation is one of the key challenges to the stability of
the contemporary international system, and the current non-proliferation
regime seems increasingly unable to meet the expectations of its designers.
Since the signature of the Non Proliferation Treaty in 1968, nuclear powers
have barely fulfilled their commitments to reduce their atomic arsenals,
while the number of non-nuclear countries that have crossed the threshold
status and are now regarded as full-fledged atomic powers has increased
and threatens to keep growing.
This workshop intends to address these crucial issues by bringing together a number of scholars from very different backgrounds who all share a deep interest in studying the problems of proliferation and in preventing any further spreading of nuclear weapons. Historians, nuclear physicists, politicians and political scientists will discuss together the dangers of nuclear proliferation in order to profit from the encounter of their different expertise and perspectives.
The workshop is articulated on an introductory session and three panels. In the introduction, a number of distinguished scientists will illuminate some of the main themes that will be further discussed in the following panels. The first panel will address the key issues of dual use of nuclear technology and of the cost of a nuclear weapons program. The ambiguity of dual use, in particular, has become one of the most critical aspects of the current proliferation debate, and the conference intends to offer its contribution to the need of a growing awareness of its implications. The second session will be dedicated to some of the regional dimensions of contemporary proliferation, namely the Pacific Region and the Middle East. The latter, in particular, will be the object of an in-depth analysis which will discuss the development of a number of national nuclear programs such as the Israeli and the Iranian ones. Finally, a third session will focus on current disarmament programs and will discuss a variegated number of issues, ranging from US and Russian disarmament policies to the ambiguities of Franco-British nuclear cooperation within the EU. The first day will also include an after dinner keynote speech on the longstanding debate about Nazi Germany�s nuclear program during the Second World War, while the final session will be concluded by a round table.
We firmly believe that a deeper understanding of the political and psychological roots of nuclear proliferation can only be achieved through a strong interdisciplinary effort, combining the skills and expertise of scholars from highly different fields. Consistent and reliable results in the field of non-proliferation can be reached only with the contribution and collaboration of specialists from many disciplines - such as history of science, political science, international history, sociology, economics, and so on � conjugated with the experience of those people and Agencies who concretely work to apply verifications and safeguards. We hope this workshop will provide a useful contribution in this direction.
The Conference will be held in Florence and will have a two-days duration.
Further information will be sent to every interested person, or institution.
For further information and contacts, please contact:
Matteo Gerlini: [email protected]
Organisations and Program Committee is integrated by:
Angelo Baracca (University of Florence)
Reiner Braun (INES)
Cristiano Franceschini (IPB Italia)
Marilena Gala (University of Rome)
Matteo Gerlini (University of Florence)
Leopoldo Nuti (University of Rome)
Albert Presas i Puig (MPI, Berlin)
Juergen Renn, (MPI, Berlin)
Last update: April 13th, 2007