VeSPoTec – Verification in a Complex and Unpredictable World: Social, Political and Technical Processes
Verification is a cornerstone of international nonproliferation, arms control, and disarmament. It involves collecting and analyzing information to determine whether states are complying with their nuclear treaty obligations. Verification creates transparency and strengthens trust between states. It also serves as an important foundation for stable disarmament and arms control agreements. However, particularly in light of growing geopolitical tensions, technological upheavals, and global crises, the question arises as to how such verification processes can function reliably.
The interdisciplinary research project, “VeSPoTec: Verification in a Complex and Unpredictable World: Social, Political, and Technical Processes,” addresses this challenge. The project is based on the idea that verification is more than a technical analysis: they interact with political and social process. Therefore, VeSPoTec integrates perspectives from the natural sciences, social sciences, and political science into its research process to examine how verification can be shaped by changing global conditions.
VeSPoTec research focuses on two areas: the role and application of artificial intelligence in verification processes, and the institutional and normative frameworks of nuclear verification and their re-ordering. PRIF contributes expertise in technical verification methods to the research process. Using data-driven approaches and simulations, PRIF further analyzes and applies complex relationships to real-world problems.
Another key objective of VeSPoTec is to establish a long-term, interdisciplinary hub for nuclear verification research and policy advice. Through application-oriented basic research across various disciplines, VeSpoTec Hub aims to develop practical solutions, increase its international visibility, and foster dialogue with policymakers and organizations in the field of verification.
Publications
- The verification of the dismantlement of South Africa’s nuclear weapons programme
| 2026
Möser, Robin E.; Stott, Noël; Buys, Andrè (2026): The verification of the dismantlement of South Africa’s nuclear weapons programme. Lessons for future unilateral or multilateral disarmament initiatives, Zeitschrift für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung, published online. DOI: 10.1007/s42597-026-00165-w - South Africa’s Disarmament and Its Ramifications: From the NPT to the Treaty of Pelindaba and MTCR Adherence, 1988–1995
| 2025
Möser, Robin E. (2025): South Africa’s Disarmament and Its Ramifications: From the NPT to the Treaty of Pelindaba and MTCR Adherence, 1988–1995, Journal of Strategic Studies, 2025: July, 1–25. DOI: 10.1080/01402390.2025.2522276 - Nuclear archaeology to assess fissile-material inventories for nuclear safety and security, transparency, and disarmament
| 2024
Göttsche, Malte (2024): Nuclear archaeology to assess fissile-material inventories for nuclear safety and security, transparency, and disarmament, The Nonproliferation Review, 1–20. DOI: 10.1080/10736700.2024.2314371 - Forensic Measurements for Nuclear Archaeology – Trawsfynydd Revisited
| 2024
Rademacher, Lukas; Göttsche, Malte (2024): Forensic Measurements for Nuclear Archaeology – Trawsfynydd Revisited, in: Institute for Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) (eds), 2024 INMM Annual Meeting Proceedings, Portland: Institute for Nuclear Materials Management (INMM).
Publication - Reconstructing Nuclear Histories – A Field Study
| 2023
Kretzschmar, Sophie; Göttsche, Malte (2023): Reconstructing Nuclear Histories – A Field Study, INMM/ESARDA Joint Annual Meeting, Vienna.
Publication - Militärische Macht
| 2022
Göttsche, Malte (2022): Militärische Macht, Atomausstieg in Deutschland, Berlin: Bundesamt für die Sicherheit der nuklearen Entsorgung, 26-29.
