Description
The existing research on nuclear disarmament extensively covers the TPNW and its transformative position in changing norms, narratives, and discourses, as well as the role of the ICAN and grassroots activism. However, less is known about the roles of experts, think tanks, and scholars. In addition, there is little known about the relationship between these actors and states concerning the production of such norms and regarding nuclear policy knowledge in general. Think tanks in particular play an important role in the production of policy-relevant knowledge. They serve as intermediaries between research and policy. In my research paper, I explore the roles of think tanks in the nuclear weapons knowledge production realm. I examine the power relations of the policy knowledge production on nuclear weapons issues. While conducting empirical research and using a qualitative method, I analyze case studies of think tanks based in European democratic states and present advanced insights from the interviews. The European region represents an interesting case for research as it is comprised of states with different knowledge regimes and nuclear weapons policies. The findings of this empirical research contribute to scholarship on nuclear weapons, European studies, the politics of knowledge, and peace research.
