Abstract: | The nuclear order and the sociology of technology -- Opening the technological -- Identifying the actors -- Searching the structural core -- Tipping the balance -- Reaching for the goal -- New actors and structures. "This book offers a sociological approach to the nuclear order defined by nuclear technology and a better understanding of the policy alternatives. The nuclear order of today is polarized, with nuclear weapon states modernizing their arsenals at the same time as non-nuclear states have approved a treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. The survival of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), seen as the cornerstone of the current nuclear order, is openly being questioned. This book looks at the need to renegotiate this nuclear order, with a focus on the conflict between deterrence and disarmament, which is analyzed with the tools developed by the sociology of technology. Empirically, this is applied to the rules of the nuclear order as a whole, combined with an analysis of the proliferation cases of North Korea and Iran. A secondary goal of the book is to understand the nuclear policy alternatives emerging from today's need to deleted renegotiate the nuclear order. In order to achieve a balance between the obligations and responsibilities of the nuclear and non-nuclear states, as requested by the UN in 1965, the following policy agenda emerges from the study: (1) abolition of the definition of the nuclear weapon state in the NPT; (2) empowerment of non-nuclear states as major partners in proliferation negotiations; and (3) the need for a clear separation of non-proliferation and disarmament treaties in the future nuclear order. This book will be of much interest to students of nuclear arms control, security studies, sociology, STS studies and International Relations"-- |
