The Arms Control Primer

How Argentina pursued nuclear autonomy without ever building a weapon, resisted the NPT on principle and co-founded a landmark bilateral inspection regime with Brazil that rewrote the rules of regional non-proliferation. ‘ The Arms Control Primer ’ is a podcast series produced by the IISS  Strategy, Technology and Arms Control Programme  on behalf of the  EU Non-Proliferation and Di...

How Brazil moved from nuclear autonomy and a secret parallel programme to regional safeguards, democratic oversight and a leading role in disarmament debates. 📩 Join the conversation—follow us on X (@IISS_org), LinkedIn or Instagram (iissorg) or visit the webpage of our Strategy, Technology and Arms Control research programme: Strategy, Technology and Arms Control | IISS Research programme  ...

From hosting US nuclear weapons during the Cold War to pursuing and abandoning its own nuclear ambitions, South Korea offers a revealing case study in deterrence, alliance politics and nuclear hedging on the Korean Peninsula. 📩 Join the conversation—follow us on X (@IISS_org), LinkedIn or Instagram (iissorg) or visit the webpage of our Strategy, Technology and Arms Control research programme: Str...

In this episode of The Arms Control Primer , Dr Alexander Bollfrass, Elena Sokova and Dr Alexander Sorg examine Belarus’s journey from hosting Soviet nuclear weapons to relinquishing them after independence and joining the NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon state. They explore the disarmament process of the 1990s and assess the implications of Russia’s renewed deployment of nuclear-capable systems on Bel...

In this week’s episode of The Arms Control Primer, Dr Alexander Bollfrass speaks with Dr Togzhan Kassenova about Kazakhstan’s legacy as the Soviet Union’s primary nuclear testing site, the human and environmental toll at Semipalatinsk, and the political decision to relinquish the world’s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal.  They explore Kazakhstan’s path fr...

In this episode of The Arms Control Primer , host Dr Alexander Bollfrass speaks with Dr Polina Sinovets and Darya Dolzikova about Ukraine’s nuclear history, from its role in the Soviet nuclear weapons programme to relinquishing nuclear arms in the 1990s, examining the Budapest Memorandum, nuclear coercion during Russia’s war against Ukraine, and the lessons this case holds for deterrence, non-prol...

In this episode of The Arms Control Primer , host Dr Alexander Bollfrass speaks with Dr Hassan Elbahtimy and Robert Kelley about Libya’s nuclear ambitions from 1969 to 2003, from foreign assistance and links to the A.Q. Khan network to the inspections that followed Muammar Gaddafi’s decision to abandon the programme and the lessons it holds for arms control and verification. 📩 Join the conversati...

In this episode of The Arms Control Primer , host Dr Alexander Bollfrass speaks with Prof Marina Henke and Dr Andreas Lutsch about Germany’s post-war nuclear trajectory, from early ambitions and NATO’s nuclear-sharing role to the NPT and renewed debates over deterrence amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. 📩 Join the conversation—follow us on X (@IISS_org), LinkedIn or Instagram (iissorg) or visit the we...

In this episode of The Arms Control Primer , host Dr Alexander Bollfrass is joined by Prof Anna-Mart van Wyk and Dr Robin E. Möser to explore how apartheid-era South Africa built a nuclear arsenal and how, after the end of apartheid, it became the first state to dismantle its weapons entirely.   📩 Join the conversation—follow us on X (@IISS_org), LinkedIn or Instagram (iissorg) or visit the...

In this episode of The Arms Control Primer , host Dr Alexander Bollfrass is joined by Dr Emma Rosengren and Dr Thomas Jonter to examine Sweden’s nuclear ambitions during the Cold War, from its dual-use programme and domestic debate to its renunciation of the bomb and emergence as a leader in global disarmament. 📩 Join the conversation—follow us on X (@IISS_org), LinkedIn or Instagram (iissorg) or...

In this episode of The Arms Control Primer , host Alex Bollfrass is joined by Dr Hans Blix and Dr Stephen Herzog to examine Iraq’s nuclear ambitions under Saddam Hussein: from its early civilian programme to clandestine enrichment efforts and the post-Gulf War inspections that reshaped international safeguards and the future of arms control. 📩 Join the conversation—follow us on X (@IISS_org), Lin...

The Arms Control Poseur is now the Arms Control Primer! 🎙️ Hosted by Alex Bollfrass, Season 5 explores the nuclear past, present, and future by examining countries that once pursued or possessed nuclear weapons but ultimately gave them up. What lessons can their choices teach us about non-proliferation, arms control, and disarmament today? ‘ The Arms Control Primer ’ is a podcast series produced b...

In the season premiere of The Arms Control Primer , host Alex Bollfrass is joined by Dr. Nicole Grajewski and Dr. Azadeh Zamirirad to unpack Iran’s nuclear programme - from its origins under the Shah to the JCPOA, the 2025 Israel–Iran conflict, and the uncertain road ahead for diplomacy, deterrence and non-proliferation. 📩 Join the conversation—follow us on X (@IISS_org), LinkedIn or Instagram (i...

In the last episode of season 4 of The Arms Control Poseur, host Dr Alex Bollfrass brings together insights from across the series for a sobering, thoughtful and wide-ranging discussion on nuclear strategies, global risk dynamics and the path for arms control. Alex Bollfrass is joined by Zuzanna Gwadera, a research analyst from the IISS, who reflects on moments from the season and what they reveal...

With the story of North Korea’s nuclear programme commencing in the 1950s under Kim Il Sung, following the end of the Soviet support and the imbalance of power with South Korea, Pyongyang began to see nuclear weapons not only as a deterrent, but as a necessary tool for regime survival. In this episode of The Arms Control Poseur, host Dr Alexander Bollfrass is joined by leading nuclear policy exper...

How did Pakistan become a nuclear power? Between India and China, how does Pakistan manage deterrence in a volatile region with two-nuclear armed neighbours, growing asymmetry, and no effective arms control mechanisms in place? After Pakistan’s nuclear journey began in the 1950s with civilian ambitions, it developed nuclear enrichment capabilities in the early 19080s and conducted first tests. In...

India’s nuclear weapons programme begins with the pre-independence roots of its nuclear ambitions. While India has continuously emphasised the peaceful aspects of nuclear energy, the geopolitical landscape in South Asia has shaped its dual-use trajectory. The border war with China in 1962, followed by China’s nuclear test in 1964, and the increasing alignment between China and Pakistan, were turni...

Israel is unique among nuclear-armed states as it neither confirms nor denies its nuclear capability. While Israel’s nuclear ambiguity has shaped its strategic posture for decades, it also raises questions about Israel’s nuclear doctrine and how it fits into Middle Eastern security. Unlike other nuclear powers, Israel began exploring nuclear weapons development before the establishment of the Stat...

China’s nuclear journey began during the Cold War, when Mao Zedong’s leadership saw nuclear weapons as essential to protecting China’s sovereignty. Initially relying on assistance from the Soviet Union, China quickly accelerated its nuclear programme, conducting its first nuclear test in 1964. In this episode of The Arms Control Poseur, host Dr Alexander Bollfrass is joined by leading nuclear poli...

Since the Cold War, France has charted an independent course in nuclear policy, without relying on external security guarantees. But what makes France’s nuclear strategy different from that of the United States, United Kingdom or Russia? And how does it fit into the European security architecture today? In this episode of The Arms Control Poseur, host Dr Alexander Bollfrass is joined by leading nu...

How has the nuclear weapons programme of the United Kingdom evolved from its origins during World War II to its strategic choices during the Cold War? With the current international order in disarray, the United Kingdom has maintained its nuclear arsenal for over 70 years, but its nuclear warheads, missiles, and delivery systems are deeply intertwined with American technology and supply chains. In...

In this episode of The Arms Control Poseur, host Dr Alexander Bollfrass is joined by nuclear experts Lydia Wachs and Andrey Baklitskiy to explore the historical and current trajectory of Russia’s nuclear arsenal. How has the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics’ nuclear policy evolved into Russia’s current arsenal? How have arms control treaties shaped nuclear stability – or failed to do so? An...

What successes and failures of arms control have shaped the US nuclear strategy over time? In the first episode of season 4 of the Arms Control Poseur podcast, host Dr Alexander Bollfrass welcomes experts Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, Amy Woolf and Dr Rebecca Gibbons to explore the Cold War Arms race, deterrence strategies and what the future might hold for US nuclear policy. Together, they discuss t...

In the seventh episode of season 3, podcast host Fabian Hinz is joined by David Albright, founder and President of the Institute for Science and International Security to discuss Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Find out more: https://go.iiss.org/4g7jiP1 ‘ The Arms Control Primer ’ is a podcast series produced by the IISS  Strategy, Technology and Arms Control Programme  on behalf of the ...

In the sixth episode of the Arms Control Poseur, host Fabian Hinz discusses with guest Jim Lamson, Senior Research Associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, the complex developments of Iran's missile programme. ‘ The Arms Control Primer ’ is a podcast series produced by the IISS  Strategy, Technology and Arms Control Programme  on behalf of the  EU Non-Proli...