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The Un-Diplomatic Podcast

Part I: On a Third Nuclear Age and Multipolar Order w/ Benjamin Zala | Ep. 151

What is the nuclear revolution and why can't we agree on it? What is the Third Nuclear Age, why is it problematic as a concept, and what special dangers or opportunities might it hold? How important is multipolarity, and what counts as a pole? What counts as "emerging technologies" and how do they affect the risks of nuclear war? Is arms control possible in advanced conventional (non-nuclear) weaponry? And why is China expanding its nuclear arsenal? Dr. Benjamin Zala and Dr. Van Jackson talk about all this and more in the first of two episodes on the topic.
Broadcast on:
21 Apr 2023

What is the nuclear revolution and why can't we agree on it? What is the Third Nuclear Age, why is it problematic as a concept, and what special dangers or opportunities might it hold? How important is multipolarity, and what counts as a pole? What counts as "emerging technologies" and how do they affect the risks of nuclear war? Is arms control possible in advanced conventional (non-nuclear) weaponry? And why is China expanding its nuclear arsenal? Dr. Benjamin Zala and Dr. Van Jackson talk about all this and more in the first of two episodes on the topic.

Third Nuclear Age article by Andrew Futter and Ben Zala: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-journal-of-international-security/article/strategic-nonnuclear-weapons-and-the-onset-of-a-third-nuclear-age/91EEB3B77D348252815F9F7B59DB8A32

Thinking clearly about China's nuclear expansion: https://www.duckofminerva.com/2021/11/whos-afraid-of-chinas-nukes.html

The limits of strategy under multipolarity: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/p/what-happens-when-you-do-primacy

Third Nuclear Age project site: https://thethirdnuclearage.com

Ben Zala's book, National Perspectives on a Multipolar Order: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526159373/

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What is the nuclear revolution and why can't we agree on it? What is the Third Nuclear Age, why is it problematic as a concept, and what special dangers or opportunities might it hold? How important is multipolarity, and what counts as a pole? What counts as "emerging technologies" and how do they affect the risks of nuclear war? Is arms control possible in advanced conventional (non-nuclear) weaponry? And why is China expanding its nuclear arsenal? Dr. Benjamin Zala and Dr. Van Jackson talk about all this and more in the first of two episodes on the topic.