This thesis constitutes one of the first attempts to investigate police use of the electric-shock weapon the Taser in England and Wales, between 2004 – 2014. The research combines an inter-disciplinary approach—drawing on the criminology and policing literature, as well as on Science and Technology Studies (STS), Actor Network Theory (ANT) and Social Psychology—with mixed methods and novel data sources. It benefits from virtually unprecedented access to sources including internal police datasets, the College of Policing’s Lead Instructor Taser Training, Taser training in two forces, interviews with police officers and individuals subject to Taser. The thesis first explores how, and in what circumstances, Taser is used in selected forces in England and Wales, before looking at consequences of use for officers and subjects. It then discusses the broader legal, policy, training and accountability framework around the weapon, via an examination of three inter-related and widespread stories told about the weapon and its regulation: that Taser is a neutral tool, that appropriate use is a responsibility for, and at the discretion of, individual officers, and that it is subject to robust accountability mechanisms. It is argued that these stories, whilst not incorrect, are incomplete. Descriptions of the weapon as a neutral tool are understandable but not always convincing, decisions on its use are not just the preserve of individual officers, and accountability mechanisms are not always as robust as is claimed. The conclusions have implications for practitioners and for the literature on Taser. They also contribute to wider criminology debates around use of force, discretion and accountability, and to sociological debates about the relevance of STS and ANT approaches. Finally, the thesis not only highlights areas for future research, but also highlights some tentative recommendations for policy and practice.

xi, 578 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Rational deterrence theory posits that deterrence is more likely to be successful when a state credibly communicates to its adversary that it has both the capability and intent to retaliate against threats. Yet, second-generation nuclear states, which often exist in severe security environments, have largely adopted postures of nuclear ambiguity where they do not acknowledge their nuclear weapons capabilities or the circumstances under which they would use them. To date, research has been insufficiently comparative. While some existing research offers explanations for the ambiguous nuclear postures of individual countries, it does not permit us to draw inferences across cases and assess relative explanatory power. Through comparison, both within and across cases, this project develops a more general explanation of why nuclear states choose ambiguity over a visible deterrence posture. To this end, this project analyzes the nuclear postures of three countries: Israel, India, and Pakistan. Using process tracing and the congruence procedure methodology, I assess the relative validity of existing explanations for each case and then compare these findings across the three cases. This research suggests that regional security environments, characterized by disparities in power, create strong incentives for states to acquire nuclear weapons capabilities for deterrence as well as to retain an ambiguous posture. In particular, an ambiguous posture enables regional states to avoid the costs and dangers of competitive nuclear development vis-à-vis their adversaries. The three cases also suggest that patron state pressures for non-proliferation, which combine threats and incentives, are another important constraint on the nuclear posture of second-generation nuclear states. Other variables--such as the international non-proliferation regime, domestic political interests, and the personal moral reservations of some state leaders--play some role to varying degrees in individual cases. However, these effects are limited both within the broad history of individual cases as well as in cross-case comparison of the three states. Understanding these constraints is helpful for evaluating the efficacy of policy tools designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons as well as how to manage crises and conflicts between regional nuclear-armed states. / Committee in charge: Lars Skalnes, Chairperson, Political Science; Jane Kellett Cramer, Member, Political Science; Ronald Mitchell, Member, Political Science; Shaul Cohen, Outside Member, Geography

abstract: In September 1945, after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the United States possessed only one nuclear weapon. Thirteen years later, in September 1958, the nation possessed a significant stockpile of nuclear weapons, including the very powerful hydrogen bomb. The United States was able to build its stockpile of nuclear weapons because the Los Alamos Laboratory, once a secret wartime facility, was able to convert the forces of nature – fission and fusion – into weapons of war. The United States also was successful because of the sacrifice made by a tiny Pacific Ocean nation, The Marshall Islands, and the people of Bikini, Enewetak, and Rongelap Atolls. Between 1946 and 1958, the United States tested sixty-six nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands. Nuclear testing contaminated these three atolls and, in one instance, injured the people of Rongelap. As a result of this testing many of these people cannot return to their ancestral homes. This dissertation examines the many conditions that led to the creation of the Los Alamos Laboratory, its testing of nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands, and the long term, perhaps, permanent, displacement of the people of Bikini, Enewetak, and Rongelap. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation History 2015

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-10-07T15:23:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 izabellafatimaoliveiradesales.pdf: 821130 bytes, checksum: 5fbc7a45a3a0560dc709e2ed25869fb4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-10-11T15:47:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 izabellafatimaoliveiradesales.pdf: 821130 bytes, checksum: 5fbc7a45a3a0560dc709e2ed25869fb4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-11T15:47:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 izabellafatimaoliveiradesales.pdf: 821130 bytes, checksum: 5fbc7a45a3a0560dc709e2ed25869fb4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-08-28 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O objetivo central deste trabalho foi estudar a difusão e o controle de armas no termo de Mariana nas três primeiras décadas do século XVIII, assim como o papel que as mesmas representavam no processo de distinção dos indivíduos em uma sociedade marcada pela cultura de Antigo Regime. Nesse sentido, tentamos compreender os princípios da atuação da coroa através da legislação sobre as armas, sua expressão na colônia e o perfil da distribuição de armas entre os colonos. A análise das evidências empíricas nos permitiu observar que, apesar da intenção por parte das autoridades no sentido de controlar o uso de armas, havia uma disseminação significativa desses instrumentos em relação aos vários segmentos da população. Notamos uma maior concentração dos armamentos sob o poder da elite local, permitindo que esses atores apresentassem melhores condições de prestar serviços em benefício do Império, aumentando suas possibilidades de negociação com a Coroa, na medida em a metrópole dependia da força armada dos particulares para manter a ordem. / The central objective of this work was to study the spread and control of arms at the Mariana in the first three decades of the eighteenth century and the role they are in the process of differentiation of individuals in a society marked by the culture of Ancient Regime. In this sense, we try to understand the principles of action of the crown through the law on weapons, its expression in the colony and the profile of the distribution of weapons among the settlers. The analysis of evidence allowed us to observe that despite the intention by the authorities to control the use of weapons, there was a significant spread of these instruments in relation to the various segments of the population. Noticed a higher concentration of armaments under the power of local elite, so that these actors had better able to provide services for the benefit of the empire, increasing your chances of negotiating with the Crown, in that the metropolis depended on the armed force of individuals to maintain order.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was negotiated to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons, resulting from the dangers associated with the use of these weapons well visible during 1945, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a nuclear arms race as seen during the Cuban Missile Crisis. During NPT Review Conferences, held every five years, the strength and integrity of this treaty is tested. Evident in NPT review conferences is the disagreement between nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states over the role and importance placed on nuclear weapons and the slow pace of nuclear disarmament. The NPT has been in force for over 40 years; however the threat of nuclear weapons still exists. It then becomes necessary to understand what role the NPT plays in the international system, which differs depending on the theoretical lens used to interpret the NPT. A realist perspective of the NPT reveals that this treaty is an instrument used by dominant states to safeguard and legitimise their hold over nuclear weapons, while denying other states access to these weapons, instead protecting their allies through extended nuclear deterrence. A liberal perspective of the NPT highlights the moral influence of this treaty as an instrument for the benefit of the greater good, to shield humanity from the dangers of a nuclear explosion by delegitimizing nuclear weapons, key to shaping the perceptions of the decision makers of states regarding state security and nuclear weapons particularly. A constructivist interpretation of the NPT argues that this treaty is a social construction by states to impose a measure of order in their relations. At particular times in history, the NPT moves between a realist and liberal interpretation based on critical events that inform its direction. Social agents (decision makers of the state) through their thinking and ideas construct and give meaning to “reality” which is constantly negotiated. With that in mind, no interpretation of the NPT is fixed and for that reason, a constructivist conclusion seems ultimately applicable, namely that the NPT is what states make of it.

The United Nations, states and regional organisations have spent invaluable time and resources to maintain international peace and security in a largely anarchical international system, owing to armed conflicts between states and non-state actors (NSAs). This state of affairs is exacerbated by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, transnational terrorist networks, failed states and a disregard for international norms by powerful states. This is in spite of the normative and policy frameworks that have been established to constrain the use of force by states in the territories of one another. Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter prohibits the use of force by states in their relations, unless they rely on the exceptions in articles 51 and 42 and the customary law doctrine of ?consent?. In addition, it was the requirement of international law that a state may use force against NSAs, only if it attributes the conduct of the NSAs to a state. This thesis examines the extraterritorial use of force by states against terrorist non-state actors, and the focus is to answer the question ?whether the law of self-defence has been transformed?. The investigation has been conducted with particular attention to whether the post 9/11 practice of states, the Security Council resolutions 1368 and 1373, the use of pre-emptive self-defence by the United States, Israel and a few other states, the disregard for attribution of the conduct of NSAs to states and the overwhelming international support for contemporary incidents of the use of force by states against NSAs, such as Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Al-Shaabab, the Khorasan Group and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, have caused a change in the law of self-defence. Firstly, the study finds that pre-emptive self-defence which does not require imminence has not been accepted as part of international law and it argues that its unlawful use could not cause a change in the law. Secondly, as far as the use of self-defence against non-state actors is concerned, it finds that the actions of the United States against Al Qaeda following resolutions 1368 and 1373 of the Security Council, the lowering of the attribution standard and the toleration by the international community of the use of force against terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Pakistan, Ecuador, Somalia and Mali without attributing their conduct to states, could be interpreted as amounting to a transformation of the law of self-defence. Accordingly, this study recommends the acceptance of the lowered threshold in the attribution requirement, but it also recommends a corresponding disregard of ?pre-emptive self-defence? as not forming part of the corpus of international law. It is also recommended that the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court be enlarged to try transnational terrorism as one of the egregious crimes against mankind. / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Centre for Human Rights / LLD / Unrestricted

This paper focuses on that less researched area of the emergence of autonomous weapons systems. The point of this thesis is to research and map out this relatively under researched area, with the goal of answering research questions, and ending the thesis with an attempt at creating a hypothesis based on the conducted research. This is done by applying an inductive qualitative study, a normative framework, in terms of the doctrine of necessity, as well as analysing primary and some secondary sources by applying a normative, interdisciplinary approach with a hermeneutic analysis. One could most definitely argue that this research area is rather under researched, with a few exemptions, which is why this specific topic was worth choosing. The main findings of the conducted research were that there are many questions surrounding the topic of autonomous weapons systems usage. Although, perhaps the main question that needs to be answered before any other questions can have a substantial meaning, is the question of the level of autonomy that these weapons systems will possess.

No description available.

Masters of Commerce / Highly enriched uranium (HEU) is one of the most dangerous materials in the world, because it is a key ingredient in making a nuclear bomb. If a terrorist organisation can get HEU, it would be close to making a nuclear bomb. After South Africa disarmed its nuclear weapons, it kept HEU that was extracted from the nuclear bombs. The US tried to persuade South Africa to blend down its HEU into low enriched uranium (LEU) or give it up for safekeeping. However, South Africa refused to give it up. After a breach at Pelindaba, a national key point facility where South Africa stores its HEU, the US intensified its efforts to pressure South Africa to give its HEU up. It even promised incentives to South Africa should they agree to give it up, but South Africa refused. The US used the nuclear terrorism narrative to justify its initiative to eliminate vulnerable materials in the world. However, South Africa is yet to be swayed. This is odd since South Africa's refusal can negatively affect its credentials as a nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament champion and its image as a norm entrepreneur. The objective of the study was to understand the role played by HEU in South Africa's nuclear diplomacy. It was to explore HEU as a factor in the state's nuclear diplomacy and to understand the power of having HEU in nuclear negotiations, as well as what SA intends to do with its HEU. The study is framed theoretically by drawing on foreign policy theory, namely middle-power theory, and revisionism. It juxtaposed middle power, reformist, and revisionist positions with status quo foreign policy to analyse the role of HEU in South Africa's nuclear diplomacy. As a middle power with a moral high ground, South Africa hoped that it can affect change in the nuclear regime. However, when this did not occur its foreign policy shifted to a revisionist character that is discontent with the status quo in the nuclear regime. SA is dissatisfied with the current nuclear order and wants it revised towards liberal values such as equality and nondiscrimination. It views the current nuclear order as nuclear apartheid.

ABSTRACT Objectives There is a growing concern about the increasing incidence of weapon-related injuries among middle and high school students in the United States, but the association with substance use remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the association between substance use and weapon-related injuries among middle and high school students in the United States. Design Population-based cross-sectional study Setting Public and private middle and high schools in all 50 states of the United States and District of Columbia Methods Data were obtained from the 2015 Youth Behavioral Risk Survey (YRBS) (n=15,624). Weapon-related injuries were injuries caused by any weapon. Substance use was defined as when someone uses psychoactive substances including alcohol and illicit drugs. Substances in this study included marijuana, heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, ecstasy, alcohol and injected illegal drugs. Substance abuse referred to the harmful use of any of these substances. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between substance use and weapon-related injuries after adjustment for covariates. Results There were 574 (7.70%) cases of weapon-related injuries among the males and 361 (4.85%) cases of weapon-related injuries among the female population. The highest proportion of weapon-related injuries was among the American Indians (10.42%) while the lowest proportion was among the whites (5.74%). Of all the substance use groups, alcohol users had the highest number of cases of weapon-related injuries (N= 689, 7.37%) but the highest proportion of weapon-related injuries was among heroin users (N= 147, 45.51%). The use of marijuana (Odd Ratio (OR) = 1.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) =1.16 -1.80) and illegal drug injection (OR =3.71, 95% CI = 2.28 -6.03) were associated with increased odds of weapon-related injuries. Carrying weapon on school property (OR =2.21, 95% CI =1.69 – 2.89) and alcohol use (OR = 1.53, 95% CI =1.3 – 1.8) were also found to be positively associated with weapon-related injuries. However, being female (OR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.7 – 0.98) was associated with lower odds of weapon-related injuries. Conclusion Marijuana use, illegal drug injection, alcohol use and carrying weapon on school property were positively associated with weapon-related injuries among middle and high school students in the United States. The findings may help reduce weapon-related injuries in middle and high schools if policy makers enact laws that limit access to weapons especially those involved in substance use and prohibit bringing of weapons into the school properties.