The Taiwan Research Hub presents a book launch with career talk from Nottingham Alumni
The Global Third Nuclear Age: Clashing Visions for a New Era in International Politics
by Cameron Hunter, Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark
(University of Nottingham Alumni)
Chaired by Dr Chun-yi Lee, Taiwan Research Hub
Wednesday 3 December 2025, 12-2pm, Room LG106 Hallward Library, University Park
In Person event only register at https://forms.office.com/e/ZXK8Bfb7BN
Talk abstract
This talk showcases the case of Taiwan in a time of major shifts in international nuclear politics. The talk draws from The Global Third Nuclear Age, a book providing an in-depth examination of the technological, geopolitical and normative pressures driving the world into a new, more complex and potentially more dangerous phase. The book challenges the constrained focus of much of the existing literature by explaining that the pathways to nuclear security for different actors across the globe will vary considerably in this new context. It argues that the Third Nuclear Age will be defined by friction and conflict between “Nuclear Traditionalists,” “Technological Transformers,” “Hedgers and Balancers,” and “Activists and Protestors.” The book draws on dozens of interviews and non-English language sources to provide a global approach and looks at the security politics driving the political debate in 20 different countries across the globe. As Taiwan responds to great power competition and a possible US-China nuclear arms race with advanced conventional weapons, it joins a number of other countries facing the Third Nuclear Age by emphasising technological transformation. At the same time, Taiwan occupies a unique position in the Global Nuclear Order as a "good citizen" on norms and international treaties, without formal diplomatic recognition by most of the international community. Taiwan's relationship to changing nuclear politics is therefore an illuminating way into understanding a time of growing, global nuclear tensions.
The book can be accessed for free at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-mono/10.4324/9781003570707/global-third-nuclear-age-andrew-futter-ludovica-castelli-cameron-hunter-olamide-samuel-francesca-silvestri-benjamin-zala-paul-bracken
About the Speaker
Dr Cameron Hunter is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. His research combines critical approaches to understand US-China strategic competition, particularly in the areas of nuclear weapons and space technology. Cameron previously worked at the University of Leicester as part of the Third Nuclear Age project, where he designed a number of nuclear conflict simulations in his capacity as wargames lead. He recently co-authored The Global Third Nuclear Age: Clashing Visions for a New Era in International Politics, with other work appearing in the Journal of Strategic Studies and Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, among others.