This lecture series provides a general overview on the role of nuclear weapons in international politics. Beginning from the development and use of the atomic bomb during the Second World War, the course covers strategic, normative and ethical debates on nuclear weapons and describes the main institutions of international nuclear arms control. Particular focus is on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the related 'grand bargain' between the five nuclear weapons possessors and the non-nuclear weapons states. Based on Hedley Bull's ideas, contemporary non-proliferation challenges are viewed as a reflection of the tension between order and justice in international politics. Prospects for global nuclear disarmament are assessed by contrasting the nuclear weapons states' recent reductions in their arsenals with their ongoing justifications for continued possession of nuclear weapons. The significance of nuclear weapons free zones is also discussed, with particular attention to the process of establishing such a zone in the Middle East.

The course consists of 22 hours of lectures and exam (2 ects), or 22 h of lectures, exam and 10-12 page essay (5 ects)