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Ben Zala

@drbeezee.bsky.social
210 followers 211 following 22 posts

Senior Lecturer at Monash University, Australia. Work focusses on great power relations and reducing nuclear dangers.

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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
It's been a (3rd nuclear?) age since I've posted on here but figured I'd flag a great new podcast by BASIC called NukeChat. I happen to be on the new episode discussing "Nuclear Responsibilities Through The Nuclear Ages" but the other episodes will be even better! basicint.org/nukechat-epi...
basicint.org
NukeChat Episode 2: Nuclear Responsibilities Through The Nuclear Ages - BASIC
In this episode, Dr Megan Dee and Dr Ben Zala consider how nuclear responsibilities have evolved over the first and second nuclear ages and reflect on how they have also been questioned, critiqued, an...
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
80 years into the nuclear age and "arms control has all but collapsed while reliable and trusted channels of communication between major nuclear adversaries are virtually non-existent." We're going to need more than luck to survive another 80 years. theconversation.com/fear-built-t...
theconversation.com
Fear built the nuclear bomb – only trust can ensure it is never used again
If the nuclear bomb was born out of fear, then ensuring it is never used again requires replacing fear with trust.
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Great piece by @olamidediy.bsky.social on the implications for the non-proliferation regime of the latest attempt at preventive counterproliferation strikes. www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
aljazeera.com
The attacks on Iran didn’t achieve anything more than harm nonproliferation
The conclusion many states may now draw is that complying with the NPT is no longer a guarantee of nuclear security.
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
After being repeatedly asked about this for the better part of a fortnight, I figured I'd just write it up in one spot. It's not an endorsement of nuclear deterrence, nor a nuclear-armed Iran. But could we live with that outcome? Yep. theconversation.com/could-we-liv...
theconversation.com
Could we live with a nuclear-armed Iran? Reluctantly, yes
Both Israel and the US claim a nuclear-armed Iran would pose an existential threat. It wouldn’t. Here’s why.
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
For Australia-based followers, I joined ‪@patskarvelas.bsky.social‬ on Afternoon Briefing yesterday (17/6) to discuss the Israeli strikes against Iran and the likelihood of this counter-proliferation strike leading to the much wider goal of regime change in Tehran: iview.abc.net.au/show/afterno...
iview.abc.net.au
Afternoon Briefing
Your daily download of everything you need to know about politics, national and global affairs. Patricia Karvelas asks politicians the tough questions and talks to key players and experts on the issue...
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
I'm the guest for today's episode of the ABC News Daily podcast with Samantha Hawley on "Was Iran Really About to Build a Nuclear Bomb?": www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
abc.net.au
Was Iran really about to build a nuclear bomb? - ABC listen
Israel has been ramping up pressure on Donald Trump for the US to join its strikes on Iran. It’s believed that only the US has the bombs that could destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities hidden deep under...
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
My explainer on the Israeli strikes against Iran (including implications for the NPT and wider nonproliferation regime) for @theconversation.com theconversation.com/why-is-there...
theconversation.com
Why is there so much concern over Iran’s nuclear program? And where could it go from here?
The latest attacks have come amid growing concern over Iran’s nuclear program, prompting questions over what this means for the global non-proliferation regime.
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
New ep on "Who Will Shape the Third Nuclear Era?" of the @warontherocks.bsky.social Thinking the Unthinkable pod w/ @nktpnd.bsky.social chatting to yours truly. warontherocks.com/episode/thin...
warontherocks.com
Who Will Shape the Third Nuclear Era? – War on the Rocks
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Well, look what arrived in the post today - my Third Nuclear Age project merch! @erc.europa.eu It's been an absolute pleasure to have been part of the project since it started. Check out www.thethirdnuclearage.com
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
Really glad to have an article in this excellent special issue. Mine, with @andrewfutter.bsky.social, is on "The Return of Nuclear Great Power Politics (or why we stopped worrying about terrorists and the bomb)" www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
The return of nuclear great power politics (or why we stopped worrying about terrorists and the bomb) | European Journal of International Security | Cambridge Core
The return of nuclear great power politics (or why we stopped worrying about terrorists and the bomb) - Volume 10 Issue 1
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Both a very narrow reading of 19th century great power politics and a very generous reading of the Trump Admin's foreign policy.
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Good piece on the likelihood of a return to great power tacit collusion. However, big difference b/n Ukraine & Taiwan on the one hand and Greenland on the other given what a sphere in each does for Russia, China & the US. Greenland is the odd one out. www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianou...
internationalaffairs.org.au
A New Trend in Geopolitics? Great Power Coordination in the Expansion of Spheres of Influence - Australian Institute of International Affairs
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Excellent summary both of where things are at on strategic arms control and how we got here (via @ucsusa.bsky.social): blog.ucsusa.org/tara-drozden...
blog.ucsusa.org
The Clock Is Ticking on New START Expiration—and a Nuclear Arms Race
Allowing the New START treaty between Russia and the United States to expire in 2026 could lead to an unconstrained race for nuclear weapons around the world.
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
One of the more significant military developments in Asia over the last year.
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Trump's #IronDome executive order on missile defence proves what those of us who have consistently opposed any missile defence always knew: That promises of a "limited" system were just that - promises. Stability between nuclear-armed great powers can never rest only on unilateral promises. 1/4
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
No idea who the old guy on the right is.
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Ben Zala @drbeezee.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Kicking off using this app w/ a new book! The Global Third Nuclear Age is now out & open access. Co-authored w/ a great team (inc. @andrewfutter.bsky.social @olamidediy.bsky.social @ludovicacast.bsky.social @cameronhunter.bsky.social), w/ a forward by Paul Bracken. www.routledge.com/The-Global-T...
routledge.com
The Global Third Nuclear Age: Clashing Visions for a New Era in International Politics
This book provides an in-depth examination of the technological, geopolitical and normative pressures driving the world into a new, more complex and potentially more dangerous Third Nuclear Age. By ad...
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