Introduction: ‘Disarmament and non-proliferation: Historical perspectives, future objectives’

This introduction presents a special issue arising from the 2014 symposium “Disarmament and Non‑Proliferation: Historical Perspectives, Future Objectives,” jointly organised by Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and University College Cork with support from the Japanese Embassy. Bringing together academics, policy‑makers, practitioners, civil society actors and Hibakusha voices, the volume explores both nuclear and conventional disarmament through humanitarian and human‑security lenses. The article situates contemporary debates within Ireland’s long but under‑examined disarmament tradition, from inter‑war League of Nations activism and the Aiken “Irish Resolution” that helped shape the Nuclear Non‑Proliferation Treaty, to Ireland’s later leadership on landmines, cluster munitions and the Arms Trade Treaty. It maps the contributions in this collection, including analyses of Ireland’s role in consolidating the NPT, the evolution of EU non‑proliferation policy, the experiences of the Irish Defence Forces in conflict zones, the humanitarian disarmament campaigns led by civil society, and emerging calls for a nuclear weapons ban grounded in international humanitarian law. The introduction argues that closer cooperation between government, armed forces, NGOs and academia is essential to sustain an effective, norm‑based disarmament and non‑proliferation regime in an increasingly complex nuclear and conventional security environment.