Lyndon Burford is a Visiting Research Associate at the Centre for Science and Security Studies, King's College London, and a blockchain specialist on the New Technologies for Peace working group within the Vatican COVID-19 Commission. He studies the politics, theories and technologies of nuclear nuclear disarmament and deterrence, and has a PhD in International Relations from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His thesis examined the role of national identity as a driver for nuclear disarmament advocacy by Canada and New Zealand.In 2015, Lyndon was the civil society advisor on the New Zealand delegation to the NPT Review Conference in New York. In 2011, Lyndon won the McElvany Nonproliferation Challenge, hosted by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey, an award that recognises innovative thinking in disarmament and arms control. His winning essay explores the idea of a user pays system for funding international nuclear risk mitigation. From 2009-2018, Lyndon was a New Zealand representative on the Disarmament and Nonproliferation Study Group hosted by the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, the track-II diplomatic branch of the ASEAN Regional Forum. Lyndon has a first class MA in Political Science and a first class Honours degree in Diplomacy and International Relations, both from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. His undergraduate studies focused on Russian and French language and culture, and he has worked and lived in both countries.
... Nick Wilson Senior Lecturer University of Otago, Wellington nick.wilson@otago.ac.nz. Lyndon B... more ... Nick Wilson Senior Lecturer University of Otago, Wellington nick.wilson@otago.ac.nz. Lyndon Burford Political Science Researcher Auckland. ... Wellington: New Zealand Planning Council, 1987. Toon OB, Robock A, Turco RP, et al. Nuclear war. ...
Over several decades, New Zealand has built a strong, bipartisan record for constructive disarmam... more Over several decades, New Zealand has built a strong, bipartisan record for constructive disarmament and arms control policies. This contributes significantly to its reputation as a relatively independent, principled international actor. It reflects and reinforces New Zealand’s role as a champion of a rules-based international order, and defender of the rights and interests of small states.
... Nick Wilson Senior Lecturer University of Otago, Wellington nick.wilson@otago.ac.nz. Lyndon B... more ... Nick Wilson Senior Lecturer University of Otago, Wellington nick.wilson@otago.ac.nz. Lyndon Burford Political Science Researcher Auckland. ... Wellington: New Zealand Planning Council, 1987. Toon OB, Robock A, Turco RP, et al. Nuclear war. ...
In April 2014, the Marshall Islands announced it was suing all nine nuclear armed states for a pu... more In April 2014, the Marshall Islands announced it was suing all nine nuclear armed states for a purported failure to meet their nuclear disarmament obligations under international law. Logically speaking, the veracity of that charge depends on precisely what those disarmament obligations are. This paper presents an interpretation of existing international obligations relating to nuclear disarmament, based on an almost universally-recognised legal methodology – articles 31-32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. In doing so, the paper offers a preliminary answer to the question, what is the international norm of nuclear disarmament? In other words, what are the collective expectations of international society regarding nuclear disarmament?
From 1995 to 2000, transnationally active, New Zealand non-governmental organisations and individ... more From 1995 to 2000, transnationally active, New Zealand non-governmental organisations and individuals influenced New Zealand nuclear disarmament policy in significant and sometimes pivotal ways. During this period, New Zealand emerged as a global norm leader, experiencing the zenith of its influence on international nuclear disarmament diplomacy. As such, the NGO activity examined here also had significant downstream effects on international political, legal and normative developments. This article broadens the body of empirical data on the work of transnational disarmament advocacy. Its findings reinforce and deepen constructivist under- standings about the importance of non-traditional actors and ideational factors such as norms, identity, and ethics in the conduct of international relations.
The funding of international nuclear risk mitigation is ad hoc, voluntary, and unpredictable, off... more The funding of international nuclear risk mitigation is ad hoc, voluntary, and unpredictable, offering no transparent explanation of who is financially responsible for the task or why. Among many non-nuclear-armed states, this exacerbates a sense of injustice surrounding what they see as a discriminatory nuclear regime. The resulting erosion of the regime’s legitimacy undermines support for efforts to prevent nuclear weapons dissemination and terrorism. This article proposes a transparent, equitable ‘‘nuclear-user-pays’’ system as a logical means of reversing this trend. This system envisions states contributing financially to international efforts to mitigate nuclear risks at a level relative to the degree of nuclear risks created by each state. ‘‘National nuclear risk factors’’ would be calculated by tabulating the risks associated with each state’s civilian and military nuclear activities, as well as advanced dual-use and nuclear-capable missile activities, multiplying the severity of each risk by the probability of it occurring, and combining these results. A nuclear-user-pays model would create financial incentives for national and corporate nuclear risk mitigation, boost legitimacy and support for nuclear control efforts among non-nuclear armed states, assist in preventing nuclear weapons dissemination and terrorism, and advance nuclear disarmament by helping progressively devalue nuclear weapons.
From 1995 to 2000, transnationally active, New Zealand non-governmental organisations and individ... more From 1995 to 2000, transnationally active, New Zealand non-governmental organisations and individuals influenced New Zealand nuclear disarmament policy in significant and sometimes pivotal ways. During this period, New Zealand emerged as a global norm leader, experiencing the zenith of its influence on international nuclear disarmament diplomacy. As such, the NGO activity examined here also had significant downstream effects on international political, legal and normative developments. This article broadens the body of empirical data on the work of transnational disarmament advocacy. Its findings reinforce and deepen constructivist under- standings about the importance of non-traditional actors and ideational factors such as norms, identity, and ethics in the conduct of international relations.
... Nick Wilson Senior Lecturer University of Otago, Wellington nick.wilson@otago.ac.nz. Lyndon B... more ... Nick Wilson Senior Lecturer University of Otago, Wellington nick.wilson@otago.ac.nz. Lyndon Burford Political Science Researcher Auckland. ... Wellington: New Zealand Planning Council, 1987. Toon OB, Robock A, Turco RP, et al. Nuclear war. ...
Over several decades, New Zealand has built a strong, bipartisan record for constructive disarmam... more Over several decades, New Zealand has built a strong, bipartisan record for constructive disarmament and arms control policies. This contributes significantly to its reputation as a relatively independent, principled international actor. It reflects and reinforces New Zealand’s role as a champion of a rules-based international order, and defender of the rights and interests of small states.
... Nick Wilson Senior Lecturer University of Otago, Wellington nick.wilson@otago.ac.nz. Lyndon B... more ... Nick Wilson Senior Lecturer University of Otago, Wellington nick.wilson@otago.ac.nz. Lyndon Burford Political Science Researcher Auckland. ... Wellington: New Zealand Planning Council, 1987. Toon OB, Robock A, Turco RP, et al. Nuclear war. ...
In April 2014, the Marshall Islands announced it was suing all nine nuclear armed states for a pu... more In April 2014, the Marshall Islands announced it was suing all nine nuclear armed states for a purported failure to meet their nuclear disarmament obligations under international law. Logically speaking, the veracity of that charge depends on precisely what those disarmament obligations are. This paper presents an interpretation of existing international obligations relating to nuclear disarmament, based on an almost universally-recognised legal methodology – articles 31-32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. In doing so, the paper offers a preliminary answer to the question, what is the international norm of nuclear disarmament? In other words, what are the collective expectations of international society regarding nuclear disarmament?
From 1995 to 2000, transnationally active, New Zealand non-governmental organisations and individ... more From 1995 to 2000, transnationally active, New Zealand non-governmental organisations and individuals influenced New Zealand nuclear disarmament policy in significant and sometimes pivotal ways. During this period, New Zealand emerged as a global norm leader, experiencing the zenith of its influence on international nuclear disarmament diplomacy. As such, the NGO activity examined here also had significant downstream effects on international political, legal and normative developments. This article broadens the body of empirical data on the work of transnational disarmament advocacy. Its findings reinforce and deepen constructivist under- standings about the importance of non-traditional actors and ideational factors such as norms, identity, and ethics in the conduct of international relations.
The funding of international nuclear risk mitigation is ad hoc, voluntary, and unpredictable, off... more The funding of international nuclear risk mitigation is ad hoc, voluntary, and unpredictable, offering no transparent explanation of who is financially responsible for the task or why. Among many non-nuclear-armed states, this exacerbates a sense of injustice surrounding what they see as a discriminatory nuclear regime. The resulting erosion of the regime’s legitimacy undermines support for efforts to prevent nuclear weapons dissemination and terrorism. This article proposes a transparent, equitable ‘‘nuclear-user-pays’’ system as a logical means of reversing this trend. This system envisions states contributing financially to international efforts to mitigate nuclear risks at a level relative to the degree of nuclear risks created by each state. ‘‘National nuclear risk factors’’ would be calculated by tabulating the risks associated with each state’s civilian and military nuclear activities, as well as advanced dual-use and nuclear-capable missile activities, multiplying the severity of each risk by the probability of it occurring, and combining these results. A nuclear-user-pays model would create financial incentives for national and corporate nuclear risk mitigation, boost legitimacy and support for nuclear control efforts among non-nuclear armed states, assist in preventing nuclear weapons dissemination and terrorism, and advance nuclear disarmament by helping progressively devalue nuclear weapons.
From 1995 to 2000, transnationally active, New Zealand non-governmental organisations and individ... more From 1995 to 2000, transnationally active, New Zealand non-governmental organisations and individuals influenced New Zealand nuclear disarmament policy in significant and sometimes pivotal ways. During this period, New Zealand emerged as a global norm leader, experiencing the zenith of its influence on international nuclear disarmament diplomacy. As such, the NGO activity examined here also had significant downstream effects on international political, legal and normative developments. This article broadens the body of empirical data on the work of transnational disarmament advocacy. Its findings reinforce and deepen constructivist under- standings about the importance of non-traditional actors and ideational factors such as norms, identity, and ethics in the conduct of international relations.
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