Theme Panel: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine and the “Nuclear Taboo”

September 4, 2025 APSA Annual Meeting, Theme Panels Comments Off on Theme Panel: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine and the “Nuclear Taboo”

In-Person Roundtable

Participants:

  • (Chair) Michal Smetana, Charles University
  • (Presenter) Lauren Sukin, University of Oxford
  • (Presenter) R. Charli Carpenter, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
  • (Presenter) Stephen Herzog, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
  • (Presenter) Naomi Egel, University of Georgia
  • (Presenter) Jeffrey W. Knopf, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
  • (Presenter) Marek Vranka, Charles University
  • (Presenter) Ondrej Rosendorf, Institute of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University

Session Description:
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shaken the European security architecture. Since the beginning of the military campaign, Moscow has accompanied its use of conventional force with more or less explicit nuclear threats to influence Western policy toward Ukraine. In light of these developments, this roundtable will discuss the impact of the Russo-Ukrainian war on the international norm against nuclear weapon use, the “nuclear taboo.” We have assembled a diverse group of prominent scholars who previously published cutting-edge research investigating the non-use of nuclear weapons in world politics. Our speakers will discuss the issue from the perspective of state-level normative contestation as well as public and elite attitudes toward nuclear weapon use. Furthermore, they will debate the claims about the alleged erosion of the nuclear taboo in the context of the more general dynamics of the global nuclear order. Finally, the speakers will reflect on the current state of nuclear taboo scholarship and recommend avenues for future research in this area.