11/1/2010 Colloquium - Jacques Hymans

Jacques Hymans University of Southern California

Event Info

Title:  Implementing Nuclear Ambitions: The Political Foundations of Technical Achievement

Date: Nov 1, 2010
Location: 3105 Etcheverry Hall
Time: 4-5pm

Abstract

Whereas the early nuclear weapons states all achieved the bomb only a few short years after starting their nuclear programs, later nuclear weapons aspirants have taken much longer to succeed and many have failed altogether. I argue that a large part of the explanation for this trend lies in different levels of respect shown by top political leaderships for the autonomous action of scientific professionals, a variable which itself is profoundly shaped by the level of institutionalization of science and the state.

Speaker Biography

Jacques E. C. Hymans is Assistant Professor in the School of International Relations at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles. Hymans' research focuses on international relations and foreign policy, with an emphasis on the growth and impact of collective identities. His book The Psychology of Nuclear Proliferation: Identity, Emotions, and Foreign Policy (Cambridge University Press, 2006) received the 2007 Edgar S. Furniss Award for the Best First Book in International Security Studies and the Alexander L. George Award for the Best Book in Political Psychology.