Using our in-house Nuclear Responsibilities Approach, co-created with the ICCS at the University of Birmingham, the Responsibilities and Global Governance Programme works to facilitate discussion and third-party dialogue on states’ responsibilities in relation to nuclear weapons.
The Nuclear Responsibility Approach and third-party facilitated dialogue process have been co-created by BASIC and the Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security (ICCS) at the University of Birmingham.
The core principles that drive the approach are:
- Inclusivity
- Co-creation and Co-development
- Empathy
- Active Listening
- Neutrality
- Nonviolent Communication
- Collective Problem-solving
The Nuclear Responsibilities Approach seeks to contribute to the reduction of strategic distrust and risks associated with nuclear weapons through promoting meaningful dialogues focused on nuclear responsibilities at the national, regional, and international levels.
Between 2018 and 2020, BASIC, in collaboration with the ICCS, ran a series of Track 1.5 dialogues about states responsibilities around nuclear weapons, looking mostly at the responsibilities of Nuclear-Weapon States (NWS) from the perspective of Non-Nuclear Weapon States (NNWS) – as well as looking at NNWS responsibilities. BASIC-ICCS ran national roundtables in Brazil, Japan, the Netherlands, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. BASIC-ICCS also conducted a NNWS group meeting in Geneva.
In 2023, BASIC explored how Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) and Non-Nuclear Weapon States (NNWS) have used the language of responsibility in the context of the NPT. This work led to the publication of The Nuclear Responsibilities Primer, which draws on statements from NPT Review Conferences and Preparatory Committees (2000 – 2023) to unpack the evolving discourse around nuclear responsibilities, aiming to foster shared norms and collaborative efforts for risk reduction, and highlighting opportunities to advance responsibility-based approaches in the NPT.
The aim of this work has been to shape the approach to international nuclear weapon policy to draw out the responsibilities of states around nuclear weapons, during the process of reductions to global zero. Every nuclear weapons possessor state has described itself as a ‘responsible’ nuclear-armed state, but there exists no common understanding of what this entails. This presented an opportunity for a new discussion of nuclear deterrence, restraint, and disarmament that is inclusive and engaging of the NNWS perspectives, centred around the frame of responsibility.
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