Roundtable Discussion

Roundtable Discussion & Book Launch of

Stanford University Press, 2009

Saturday April 4, 2009 Chair 5:00-6:00 p.m. Toby Gilsig (CIC) Followed by a Reception Discussants Mont-Royal Center John M. Clearwater 2200 Mansfield Richard Ned Lebow (Dartmouth College) Montreal David Welch (University of Toronto) Desmond Morton (McGill University) T. V. Paul (McGill University) Since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attacks, no state has unleashed nuclear weapons. What explains this? According to the author, the answer lies largely in a prohibition inherent in the tradition of non-use, a time-honored obligation that has been adhered to by all nuclear states—thanks to a consensus view that use would have a catastrophic impact on humankind, the environment, and the reputation of the user.

"The most astonishing event of the twentieth century did not occur: no nuclear weapons used in warfare since the two on Japan in august, 1945. Here is the first thorough history of the evolution of that powerful, completely unpredicted, tradition, with analysis of how to maintain and strengthen it." —Thomas Schelling, Nobel Laureate in Economics and Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland

More information about the book can be found at: http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=16942

Roundtable Participants

T.V. Paul is James McGill Professor of International Relations in the Department of Political Science at McGill University and Co-Director of the McGill--University of Montreal Research Group in International Security (REGIS). Paul specializes in international security, international conflict, and South Asia and is the author or editor of 11 books, including: Complex Deterrence: Strategy in the Global Age, University of Chicago Press, forthcoming, 2009.

Toby Gilsig is President of the Canadian International Council (CIC), Montreal Chapter.

John Clearwater is the author of numerous books on nuclear weapons, including Canadian Nuclear Weapons (1998), U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Canada (1999) and Broken Arrow No.1 (2009).

Richard Ned Lebow is James O. Freedman Presidential Professor of Government at Dartmouth College. He specializes in international relations and U.S. foreign policy. His most recent book is: A Cultural Theory of International Relations, Cambridge University Press, 2009.

David Welch is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on national and international security decision-making. His most recent book is: Painful Choices: A Theory of Foreign Policy Change, Princeton University Press, 2005.

Desmond Morton is Professor Emeritus in the History Department at McGill University. He specializes in Canadian military and political history and has published nearly 40 books on military history issues.

Special thanks to the McGill Bookstore

For more info: Stéfanie von Hlatky (REGIS) [email protected]