“Nuclear weapons have shattered the theory of a just war.” This statement by the American philosopher Michael Walzer sums up the fundamental tension in the atomic age between the traditional imperatives of morality and those of strategy. Yet, since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, numerous studies have sought to offer a philosophical assessment of nuclear weapons. The objective of this course is to offer a critical and up-to-date introduction to this vast intellectual undertaking. In the 21st century—even more so than during the Cold War—this issue cannot be reduced to a simplistic confrontation between an ethics of responsibility that favors deterrence and an ethics of conviction that favors disarmament. Exploring nuclear ethics requires an understanding of the multiple dilemmas that underlie it and how they play out in an increasingly elusive global system.

At the intersection of international relations, political theory, and strategic studies, each session of this course will center on a specific normative question. The first three sessions will thus focus on classic issues in nuclear ethics: the compatibility of nuclear strategy and morality, and the legitimacy of both the possession and use of nuclear weapons (deterrence and employment). The next three sessions will place these philosophical reflections within a broader context by confronting them with the challenges of the new nuclear age: the proliferation of actors and normative discourses on the global stage, the emergence of climate change as a factor in strategic thinking, and the democratization of debates on nuclear weapons.

Gabriel Pourre (PhD student, Sciences Po Paris – CERI)

3 ECTS 6 sessions of 2 hours

Tuesday, 18h-20h room Camille Marbo at 29 rue d’ulm