7th International Student/Young Pugwash Conference Berlin, Germany, 29-30 June 2011

Report of Berlin ISYP Conference

On the occasion of the 59th Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs “European Contributions to Nuclear Disarmament and Conflict Resolution,” International Student/Young Pugwash (ISYP) invites students and young scholars from around the world to participate in an international conference that will address, from a critical and interdisciplinary perspective, the relationship between regional and global security focusing on the Middle East, South and East Asia.

The young generation has the opportunity to demonstrate that it is capable of thinking in a new way to find opportunities for cooperation through dialogue instead of renewed conflict. The 7th ISYP Conference seeks to provide a space for young scholars to exchange and create ideas concerning regional issues with global security ramifications. In this sense, the 7th ISYP Conference will include participants from various disciplinary backgrounds who have the expertise necessary to understand and analyze the interfaces between different spheres of social, economic and political life that lead to either stable or conflictive regional and global arrangements between and beyond regions. The conference will address the following security issues:

1. Regional distrust with global impact

   A permanent solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict as a condition for security and stability in the Middle East region. Iran’s regional role. Kashmir and the relationship between nuclear powers in South Asia. The impact of a rising China on the security of the East Asian region.

2. Nuclear energy and nonproliferation

   The risks arising from the proliferation of dual-use technology in a possible nuclear energy “renaissance”.

3. Regional and “Global Zero”

   Renewed calls for a world free of nuclear weapons have captivated leaders around the world. Can regional systems like nuclear weapons free zones influence the arms control and disarmament agendas of the world’s nuclear powers and curtail the proliferation of nuclear weapons?

4. Rising impact of civil societies

   The bottom-up influence created by societal interconnectivity and the extent and limits of communication technology on the security of the Middle East, East and South Asian regions. What examples have been learned from recent experiences for example in Egypt, Iran?