2020 Orientation Course Reading List

The materials in this reading list are confined to topics covered by the 2020 Orientation Course and are mainly in English. They are intended to be useful reference that you can refer to time and again.

Asterisks (*) denote required reading materials.

 

Module 1: Scene-setting—context, history and mechanisms

International Security and Arms Control

• *United Nations Disarmament Agenda: Securing Our Common Future, Secretary-General Guterres, May 2018
• The Guterres Disarmament Agenda and the Challenge of Constructing a Global Regime for Weapons, Randy Rydell , 27 May 2020
• Why Arms Control Matters Today, Thomas Countryman, May 2020
• Keeping Peace in the Nuclear Era: Why Washington and Moscow Must Extend the New START Treaty, Anatoly Antonov and Rose Gottemoeller, 29 April 2020
• Reversing the Slide—Intensified Great Power Competition and the Breakdown of the Arms Control Endeavour, Lewis Dunn, 2019
• Still Behind the Curve: Gender Balance in Arms Control, Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Diplomacy, Renata Hessmann Dalaqua, Kjølv Egeland, Torbjørn Graff Hugo, 24 June 2019
  • See also: https://www.app.unidir.org/publication/presentation-still-behind-curve
• Monitoring, Verification, and Compliance Resolution in US–Russian Arms Control, Pavel Podvig and Amy F. Woolf, 2019

Conference on Disarmament (CD)

• *An Introduction to the Conference on Disarmament, ODA
• *Mandate and Working Methods in the Conference on Disarmament, Ignacio Cartagena, 2019
• For earlier UNIDIR commentary on the CD see:
  • The Conference on Disarmament: Issues and Insights
  • The Conference on Disarmament: Breaking the Ice
  • Working paper – “Back to basics – the Programme of Work”, submitted by the Netherlands
• The three packages proposed by the six Presidents of the 2020 session of the Conference on Disarmament (P6) and circulated on 13 and 24 February 2020 and on 2 March 2020 as official documents of the Conference on Disarmament:
  • https://undocs.org/cd/2187, https://undocs.org/cd/2187/Add.1
  • https://undocs.org/cd/2187/Add.2
  • https://undocs.org/cd/2187/Add.3
• Summary of the Presidential Consultations with CD Member States during the 2020 Australian Presidency

Disarmament Machinery

• *Introduction to Disarmament: Machinery, Processes and the Role of the United Nations—eLearning Module 2019

 

Module 2: Weapons of mass destruction (WMD)

WMD (General)

• Compliance and Enforcement: Lessons from across WMD-Related Regimes, James Revill, John Borrie, Pavel Podvig, and Jennifer Hart, 2019
• Compliance and Enforcement in WMD-related Treaties, Treasa Dunworth, 2019

Biological

• *The Biological Weapons Convention, an Introduction, BWC ISU (2017), ODA
• Exploring the Future of WMD Compliance and Enforcement: Workshop Report, James Revill, Alexander Ghionis and Laetitia Zarkan, UNIDIR, 15 April 2020
• Compliance and Enforcement in the Biological Weapons Regime, Filippa Lentzos, December 2019
• Bio Plus X: Arms Control and the Convergence of Biology and Emerging Technologies, Kolja Brockmann, Sibylle Bauer and Vincent Boulanin, SIPRI, March 2019
• Missing Links: Understanding Sex- and Gender-related Impacts of Chemical and Biological Weapons, Renata Hessmann Dalaqua, James Revill, Alastair Hay, and Nancy Connell, 2019

Chemical

• *The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) at a Glance, Arms Control Association, April 2020
• What is a Chemical Weapon?, OPCW, 2020
• Chemical Weapons, ODA
• Compliance Management under the Chemical Weapons Convention, Ralf Trapp, 5 December 2019
• Three Decades of Chemical Weapons Elimination: More Challenges Ahead, P.F. Walker, Arms Control Today, December 2019
• Collateral Damage? The Chemical Weapons Convention in the Wake of the Syrian Civil War, J. Hart and R. Trapp, Arms Control Today 48(3), 2018, pp. 6–13
• Recasting the Threat of Chemical Terrorism in the EU: The Issue of Returnees from the Syrian Conflict, C. McLeish, European Journal of Risk Regulation 8(4), 2017, pp. 643–657.

Nuclear

• *How to Reduce Both Nuclear and Pandemic Threats after COVID-19, James E. Doyle, 19 May 2020 
• 11 Essential Books on Nuclear Weapons, Ploughshares Fund, 2018 
• Towards Greater Nuclear Restraint: Raising the Threshold for Nuclear Weapon Use, Tytti Erasto and Petr Topychkanov, SIPRI, May 2020 
• Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy: Impact Report 2019, Nuclear Threat Initiative, 2020 
• Let’s Be Realists: Eleven Answers to Common Questions and Comments about Nuclear Weapons, International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons, June 2020 

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

• *COVID-19 has Given the 2020 NPT Review Conference a Reprieve. Let’s take advantage of it, Robert Einhorn, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 13 May 2020 
• See also:
  • The Novel Coronavirus and Nuclear Weapons, Sergio Duarte and Ira Helfand, 4 May 2020 
• The 2020 NPT Review Conference: Prepare for Plan B, Robert Einhorn, February 2020 
• 50th Anniversary of the NPT, Tariq Rauf, Atomic Reporters, May 2020 
• Is Past Prologue? Examining NPT Review Conference Commitments, Tariq Rauf, 18 February 2020 
• Postponement of the 2020 NPT Review Conference: Possible Implications, Tariq Rauf, 25 May 2020 
  • and Postponement of the 2020 NPT Review Conference: Possible Implications, commentary by Angela Kane and Tom Markram, May 2020 
• Addressing the NPT’s Midlife Crisis, Daryl G. Kimball, Arms Control Today, January/February 2020 
• Pathways Forward for the ME WMDFZ Process and 2020 NPT Review Conference: Conference Report, Chen Zak Kane, April 2020 

Safeguards

• *IAEA Mechanisms to Ensure Compliance with NPT Safeguards, Olli Heinonen, March 2020 
• The IAEA’s Safeguards System as the Non-Proliferation Treaty’s Verification Mechanism, Nuclear Threat Initiative

Fissile Materials

• *Fissile Material (Cut-off) Treaty: Elements of the Emerging Consensus, Pavel Podvig, UNIDIR, 2016 
• Global Fissile Material Report 2015: Nuclear Weapon and Fissile Material Stockpiles and Production, International Panel on Fissile Material, December 2015 
• Fissile Material (Cut-off) Treaty: Definitions, Verification, and Scope, Pavel Podvig, 8 August 2016 
• High Level Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT) Expert Preparatory Group: Final report of the Group 
  • see also Final Report of the Group of Government Experts (GGE) on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) 

Deterrence

• *Perspectives on Nuclear Deterrence in the 21st Century, Beyza Unal, Yasmin Afina and Patricia Lewis (eds), Chatham House, 2020 

Risk

• *Nuclear Risk Reduction: Closing Pathways to Use, Wilfred Wan (ed.), UNIDIR, 2020 
• Why the Financial Community Should Work to Prevent the Market and Economic Shocks of a Nuclear Incident, David Epstein, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 29 March 2019 
• Nuclear Risk Reduction: A Framework for Analysis, Wilfred Wan, UNIDIR, 2019 
• Nuclear Risk Reduction: The State of Ideas, Wilfred Wan, UNIDIR, 2019 
• Understanding Nuclear Weapon Risks, John Borrie, Tim Caughley and Wilfred Wan (eds), UNIDIR, 2017 
• Nuclear Risk Reduction: Pathways in the Asia–Pacific (Podcast), Ankit Panda (The Diplomat) with John Borrie and Wilfred Wan (UNIDIR), April 2020 
• How many Intensive Care Beds will a Nuclear Weapon Explosion Require?, Tom Sauer and Ramesh Thakur, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, 28 April 2020 

Verification

• *Watch Them Go: Simplifying the Elimination of Fissile Materials and Nuclear Weapons, Pavel Podvig and Ryan Snyder, UNIDIR, 2019 
• Nuclear Disarmament Verification: Survey of Verification Mechanisms, Tim Caughley, 2016 
• Final Report of the GGE NDV 

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)

• Nuclear Testing and Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) Timeline, Arms Control Association, June 2019 
• *The Inside Story of the Group of Scientific Experts and Its Key Role in Developing the CTBT Verification Regime, Ola Dahlman et al., The Nonproliferation Review, June 2020 
• Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) *Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: Legal Factsheet, ICRC, 2018 
• Obstacles to Understanding the Emergence and Significance of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, John Borrie, Michael Spies and Wilfred Wan, Global Change, Peace & Security, April 2018 
• The TPNW: Setting the Record Straight, Gro Nystuen, Kjølv Egeland and Torbjørn Graff Hugo, Norwegian Academy of International Law, 2018 
• Addressing the Nuclear Ban Treaty, Rebecca Davis Gibbons, The Washington Quarterly 42(1), 2019 
• Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor 2019: Tracking Progress Towards A World Free Of Nuclear Weapons, Norwegian People’s Aid, 2019 

 

Module 3: Conventional weapons

Conventional: General

• *Good Offices and Guns: Arms Control and Conflict Prevention, Simon Yazgi, UNIDIR, 26 June 2020 
• Building the Bridge To Reduce Armed Violence: Disrupt the Supply and Demand for Arms and Ammunition, Robert Muggah and Katherine Aguirre, 2019 
• The Changing Role of Conventional Arms Control in Preventing and Managing Violent Conflict, J. Arthur Boutellis, UNIDIR, 2018
• Gender Mainstreaming in Mine Action: Powerful Interlinkages for Progress across the SDGs, Laura Biscaglia et al., GICHD, 2018 
• Alternative Approaches in Multilateral Decision Making: Disarmament as Humanitarian Action, John Borrie and Vanessa Martin Randin (eds), UNIDIR, 2005 

Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) a.k.a. Inhumane Weapons Convention

• *1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, ICRC factsheet, 2019 
• Fact Sheet: Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, ODA, 2020 
• A New Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War: The History and Negotiation of Protocol V to the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, Louis Maresca, International Review of the Red Cross, 2004 

Anti-personnel landmines (Ottawa Convention)

• *An International Ban on Anti-Personnel Mines: History and Negotiation of the "Ottawa Treaty", Stuart Maslen and Peter Herby, International Review of the Red Cross, 1998 
• Humanitarian Arms Control: The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons, and the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Simone Wisotzki, 2013 

Cluster Munitions (CCM)

• Domestic Measures to Implement the Convention on Cluster Munitions, ICRC, 2020 
• *Unacceptable Harm: A History of How the Treaty to Ban Cluster Munitions Was Won, John Borrie, UNIDIR, 2009 

Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA)

• Impacts, not Intentionality: The Imperative of Focusing on the Effects of Explosive Weapons in a Political Declaration, Ray Acheson, Reaching Critical Will, 14 February 2020 
• Analysis of the Draft Elements of a Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, Human Rights Watch, 2 June 2020 
• Opportunities to Strengthen Lines of Action and Military Practices to Reduce Damage to Civilians from Explosive Weapons, Roger Lane and Himayu Shiotani, UNIDIR, 2020 
• *Protecting Civilians as an International Policy Agenda, Article 36, May 2020 
• Urban Conflict & Targeting: A Special Problem for Protection, Roger Lane et al., UNIDIR, 2020 
• Protecting Civilians from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, International Network on Explosive Weapons, 2020 

Arms Trade

• *The Arms Trade Treaty, A Step Forward in Small Arms Control?, Sarah Parker, Small Arms Survey, 2013 
• The Arms Trade Treaty: Obligations to Prevent the Diversion of Conventional Arms, Brian Wood, UNIDR, 2020 
• Enhancing the Understanding of Roles and Responsibilities of Industry and States to Prevent Diversion, Brian Wood et al., UNIDIR, 2019 
• *How to Use the Arms Trade Treaty to Address Gender-Based Violence: A Practical Guide for Risk Assessment, Control Arms, 2018 
• Gender-based Violence and the Arms Trade Treaty: Reflections from a Campaigning and Legal Perspective, Caroline Green et al., Gender & Development 21(3), 2013 

Small Arms and Light Weapons

• *The Impact of Poorly Regulated Arms Transfers on the Work of the United Nations, ODA, 2013 
• A Guide to the UN Small Arms Process, Sarah Parker with Marcus Wilson, Small Arms Survey, 2016 
• Seventh Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, 11 May 2020 

 

Module 4: Space and missiles

Outer Space

• *Alternative Approaches and Indicators for the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space, Benjamin Silverstein, Daniel Porras and John Borrie, 2020 
• Insight—Developing Norms of Behavior for Space, Chris Johnson, Secure World Foundation, 5 February 2020 
• Eyes on the Sky: Rethinking Verification in Space, Daniel Porras, UNIDIR, 2019 

Missiles and New Weapons

• Missiles, UNODA Short Course Series 
• The Low-Yield Nuclear Warhead: A Dangerous Weapon Based on Bad Strategic Thinking, Andrew Facini, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 28 January 2020 
• *The Implications of Hypersonic Weapons for International Stability and Arms Control, UNIDIR, 2019 
• Magnifying Nanomaterials, Kobi Leins, UNIDIR, 2020 
• Controlling ballistic missile proliferation: Assessing complementarity between the HCoC, MTCR and UNSCR 1540, Kolja Brockmann, SIPRI, 2020 

 

Module 5: ICT, AI and cyber

Artificial Intelligence

• *The Militarization of Artificial Intelligence, Stanley Center for Peace and Security, 2020 
• The Role of Data in Algorithmic Decision-Making, Lydia Kostopoulos, UNIDIR, 2019 
• Recent Advances in Artificial Intelligence Contribute to Nuclear Risk, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 2020 

Cyber

• Cyber Diplomacy, ODA 
• Gender in Cyber Diplomacy, UNIDIR, 2019 
• Unpacking the GGE’s Framework on Responsible State Behaviour: International Law, Sheetal Kumar and Ian Barber, 2020 
• *UNIDIR Cyber Policy Portal 
• Supply Chain Security in the Cyber Age: Sector Trends, Current Threats and Multi-Stakeholder Responses, Oleg Demidov & Giacomo Persi Paoli, UNIDIR, 2020 
• AI, Cyberspace, and Nuclear Weapons, James Johnson and Eleanor Krabill, War on the Rocks, 31 January 2020 

Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), Unmanned Aerial vehicles (UAVs)

• Limits on Autonomy in Weapon Systems: Identifying Practical Elements of Human Control, SIPRI/ICRC, June 2020 
• Armed UAVs in Conflict Escalation and Inter-state Crises, George Woodhams and John Borrie, UNIDIR, 2018 
• The Human Element In Decisions about the Use of Force, Merel Ekelhof and Giacomo Persi Paoli, UNIDIR, 2020 
• The Need for and Elements of a New Treaty on Fully Autonomous Weapons, Bonnie Docherty, Human Rights Watch, 20 February 2020 
• Swarm Robotics: Technical and Operational Overview of the Next Generation of Autonomous Systems, Merel Ekelhof and Giacomo Persi Paoli, UNIDIR, 2020 

 

Module 6: Cross-cutting issues

International Humanitarian Law (IHL)

• *Strengthening Compliance with IHL: Disappointment and Hope, Helen Durham, ICRC, 14 December 2018 
• Implementing International Humanitarian Law: From Law to Action, ICRC, 2019 
• Guidelines on Investigating Violations of International Humanitarian Law, Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and ICRC, 2019 

Science and technology

• *Stemming the Exploitation of ICT Threats and Vulnerabilities, Camino Kavanagh, UNIDIR, 2019 
• The 2019 Innovations Dialogue : Digital Technologies & International Security, UNIDIR, 2019 
• Presidential Leadership and Nuclear Decision Making in the New Information Ecosystem, Hoover Institution, 27 May 2020

Gender

• *UNIDIR Gender and Disarmament Hub 
• Gender & Disarmament Resource Pack for Multilateral Practitioners, International Gender Champions Disarmament Impact Group, 2020
• Gender Perspectives in Arms Control and Disarmament: Views from Africa, Christine Butegwa, UNIDIR, 2020 

Advocacy and Civil Society

• Reaching Critical Will (RCW), the disarmament programme of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). RCW is active in most multilateral forums, providing analysis and advocacy for disarmament, the reduction of global military spending and militarism, and the investigation of gendered aspects of the impact of weapons and of disarmament processes.
• UNODA maintains a list of Research Institutes, Academic Institutions and NGOs that are active on disarmament issues.

Diplomacy

• Key Skills for the Five Main Diplomatic Functions, Marc Finaud, GCSP, 1 March 2019 
• Guide to International Disarmament Law, Tobias Vestner: Interview with Tobias Vestner, of the Geneva Center for Security Policy on the #DisarmApp – the companion app to the Guide to International Disarmament Law, 17 February 2020

Procedures, Documents, Systems and Support

UNOG Library Resources

http://research.un.org/en/docs/disarmament
http://libraryresources.unog.ch/disarmament/global
https://libraryresources.unog.ch/bioweapons
https://libraryresources.unog.ch/chemweapons
https://libraryresources.unog.ch/nukes
https://libraryresources.unog.ch/conventionalarms
https://libraryresources.unog.ch/st

For details of support provided by UNODA Geneva, click here.

For details of support provided by UNIDIR, click here.