The Global Third Nuclear Age: Clashing Visions for a New Era in International Politics(Routledge Global Security Studies)

This book provides an in-depth examination of the technological, geopolitical and normative pressures driving the world into a new, more complex and potentially more dangerous Third Nuclear Age. By adopting an innovative framework for analysis, the book challenges the constrained focus of much of the existing literature by explaining that the pathways to nuclear security for different actors across the globe will vary considerably in this new context. It argues that the Third Nuclear Age will be defined by friction and conflict between “Nuclear Traditionalists,” “Technological Transformers,” “Hedgers and Balancers,” and “Activists and Protestors,” as different interests and visions of the nuclear future clash. The book draws on dozens of interviews and non-English language sources to provide a global approach and looks at the security politics driving the political debate in 20 different countries across the globe. This book will be of much interest to students of nuclear politics, security studies and International Relations. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Paul Bracken Introduction: Conceptualising a New Era in Global Nuclear Politics Part I: The Activists and Protestors 1. Austria 2. Kazakhstan 3. Republic of South Africa 4. Indonesia 5. Brazil Summary Part II: The Hedgers and Balancers 6. The Islamic Republic of Iran 7. Germany 8. India 9. The United Kingdom 10. The People’s Republic of China Summary Part III: The Technological Transformers 11. Japan 12. Australia 13. Israel 14. The Republic of Korea (South Korea) 15. Republic of China (Taiwan) Summary Part IV: The Nuclear Traditionalists 16. The United States of America 17. France 18. The Russian Federation 19. Pakistan 20. Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) Summary Conclusion: Competing Pathways to Security in the Third Nuclear Age

About the Author :
Andrew Futter is Professor of International Politics at the University of Leicester, UK. Ludovica Castelli is a PhD candidate at the University of Leicester, UK. Cameron Hunter is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Olamide Samuel is a special envoy for the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE). Francesca Silvestri is Teaching Fellow at the University of Leicester, UK. Benjamin Zala is Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Monash University, Australia.

Review :
‘Nuclear strategists across the globe are grappling with a new global nuclear landscape dotted by many players, and facing simultaneous headwinds from plummeting political trust levels, galloping technological advancements, vanishing treaties and fraying norms. This book uses an inclusive lens to examine perspectives of 20 countries by categorising them on their affinity to nuclear weapons and their response to changing global nuclear politics. A novel take and interesting read.’ Manpreet Sethi, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi, India ‘The Global Third Nuclear Age advances our understanding of the full range of actors, technologies, and norms that are shaping the current nuclear age with its growing nuclear risks and eroding consensus on the ways to reduce them. Impressive in its scope, exhaustively researched, and clearly written, this book should be read by policymakers, academics, analysts, and students alike.‘ James Acton, co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC, USA 'We have moved into a new technological and geopolitical configuration after the Cold War. The norms-based international order so painstakingly constructed since 1945 is being undermined and arms control treaties and recent norms concerning nuclear weapons lack universal support. This is the context of the new nuclear age described here. This excellent volume examines its impact on and the influence of 20 states with a fine feeling for the peculiarities of each.' Beatrice Heuser, Distinguished Professor, Brussels School of Governance, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium 'The book is an excellent addition to scholarship on the third nuclear age and its focus on assessing elites’ perspectives on technological innovations, geopolitics and norms will enrich the debate on nuclear politics. Scholars should build on this book’s insights to develop non-western theoretical frameworks to evaluate the shifting nuclear landscape.' Rabia Akhtar, University of Lahore, International Affairs, July 2025