In this episode of Machiavelli in the Ivory Tower, hosts Sarah and Hanna speak with Ulrich Kühn, who is head of the research area “Arms Control and Emerging Technologies” at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH) and a Non-Resident Scholar of the Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. They discuss “Germany and Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century: Atomic Zeitenwende?”, a new book Ulrich edited and published with Routledge in early 2024.

Topics addressed:

1. “Germany and Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century: Atomic Zeitenwende?”


2. Germany and nuclear deterrence options: State of play of the German debate


3. Atomic Zeitenwende and public opinion


4. Germany's technical/technological capacity for Atomic Zeitenwende


5. Germany as a potential proliferator in comparative perspective


6. Germany's balancing act between nuclear deterrence and disarmament


7. How to bridge the divide between policymakers and the expert community