Nathan A Sears | University of Toronto (original) (raw)

Papers by Nathan A Sears

Research paper thumbnail of Anarchy, Technology, and the Self-Destruction Hypothesis: Human Survival and the Fermi Paradox

World Futures, 2020

Does the technological capability for “self-destruction” grow faster than the political capacity ... more Does the technological capability for “self-destruction” grow faster than the political capacity to control and restraint it? If so, then the uneven growth rates between technology and politics cou...

Research paper thumbnail of Existential Security: Towards a Security Framework for the Survival of Humanity

Global Policy

Humankind faces a growing spectrum of anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and... more Humankind faces a growing spectrum of anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and survival. This article therefore aims to develop a new framework for security policy – ‘existential security’ – that puts the survival of humanity at its core. It begins with a discussion of the definition and spectrum of ‘anthropogenic existential threats’, or those threats that have their origins in human agency and could cause, minimally, civilizational collapse, or maximally, human extinction. It argues that anthropogenic existential threats should be conceptualized as a matter of ‘security’, which follows a logic of protection from threats to the survival of some referent object. However, the existing frameworks for security policy – ‘human security’ and ‘national security’ – have serious limitations for addressing anthropogenic existential threats; application of the ‘national security’ frame could even exacerbate existential threats to humanity. Thus, the existential security frame is developed as an alternative for security policy, which takes ‘humankind’ as its referent object against anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and survival.

Research paper thumbnail of International Politics in the Age of Existential Threats

Journal of Global Security Studies

Humans in the twenty-first century live under the specter of anthropogenic existential threats to... more Humans in the twenty-first century live under the specter of anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and survival. What is the significance of humanity’s capacity for self-destruction to the meaning of “security” and “survival” in international politics? The argument is that it constitutes a material “revolution” in international politics—that is, the growing spectrum of anthropogenic existential threats represents a radical transformation in the material context of international politics that turns established truths about security and survival on their heads. The paper develops a theoretical framework based in historical security materialism, especially the theoretical proposition that the material circumstances of the “forces of destruction” determine the security viability of different “modes of protection”, political “units” and “structures”, and “security ideologies” in international politics. The argument seeks to demonstrate the growing disjuncture (or “contr...

Research paper thumbnail of Controlling Small Arms and Light Weapons Proliferation : The Potential of the Arms Trade Treaty

This article examines the potential of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to strengthen international co... more This article examines the potential of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to strengthen international control over global small arms and light weapons (SALW) proliferation. Research was based primarily on existing scholarly work on SALW control, the ATT, and arms control generally, as well as on observations of the third and fourth sessions of the ATT Preparatory Committee. The first section of this article analyzes the value of the ATT to strengthen international SALW control, looking at the development of SALW control as a global security initiative, the existing system of SALW control, its weaknesses, and how the ATT could strengthen it. The second section examines the challenges and opportunities that face the ATT with respect to negotiations, implementation, monitoring and verification, and compliance. The article argues that the ATT, while not a perfect instrument of SALW control, presents significant opportunities to increase transparency and promote a “responsible arms trade,” ther...

Research paper thumbnail of War and Peace in International Relations Theory: A Classroom Simulation

Journal of Political Science Education

Research paper thumbnail of Anarchy, Technology, and the Self-Destruction Hypothesis: Human Survival and the Fermi Paradox

World Futures, 2020

Does the technological capability for "self-destruction" grow faster than the political capacity ... more Does the technological capability for "self-destruction" grow faster than the political capacity to control and restraint it? If so, then the uneven growth rates between technology and politics could provide a theoretical explanation for the "Fermi Paradox"-or the contradiction between the high probability of the existence of intelligent life, and the absence of empirical evidence for it "out there" in the universe. This paper postulates the anarchy-technology dilemma as a solution to the Fermi Paradox: in essence, intelligent civilizations develop the technological capability to destroy themselves before establishing the political structures to prevent their self-destruction.

Research paper thumbnail of International Politics in the Age of Existential Threats

Journal of Global Security Studies, 2020

Humans in the twenty-first century live under the specter of anthropogenic existential threats to... more Humans in the twenty-first century live under the specter of anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and survival. What is the significance of humanity's capacity for self-destruction to the meaning of "security" and "survival" in international politics? The argument is that it constitutes a material "revolution" in international politics-that is, the growing spectrum of anthropogenic ex-istential threats represents a radical transformation in the material context of international politics that turns established truths about security and survival on their heads. The paper develops a theoretical framework based in historical security materialism, especially the theoretical proposition that the material circumstances of the "forces of destruction" determine the security viability of different "modes of protection" , political "units" and "structures" , and "security ideologies" in international politics. The argument seeks to demonstrate the growing disjuncture (or "contradiction") between the material context of anthropogenic existential threats ("forces of destruction"); and the security practices of war, the use of military force, and the balance-of-power ("modes of protection"); the political units of nation-states and structure of international anarchy ("political superstructure"); and the primacy of "national security" and doctrines of "self-help" and "power politics" in international politics ("security ideologies"). Specifically, humanity's survival interdependence with respect to an-thropogenic existential threats calls into question the centrality of national security and survival in international politics. In an age of existential threats, "security" is better understood as about the survival of humanity.

Research paper thumbnail of Existential Security: Towards a Security Framework for the Survival of Humanity

Global Policy: Next Generation, 2020

Humankind faces a growing spectrum of anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and... more Humankind faces a growing spectrum of anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and survival. This article therefore
aims to develop a new framework for security policy – ‘existential security’ – that puts the survival of humanity at its core.
It begins with a discussion of the definition and spectrum of ‘anthropogenic existential threats’, or those threats that have
their origins in human agency and could cause, minimally, civilizational collapse, or maximally, human extinction. It argues
that anthropogenic existential threats should be conceptualized as a matter of ‘security’, which follows a logic of protection
from threats to the survival of some referent object. However, the existing frameworks for security policy – ‘human security’
and ‘national security’ – have serious limitations for addressing anthropogenic existential threats; application of the ‘national
security’ frame could even exacerbate existential threats to humanity. Thus, the existential security frame is developed as an
alternative for security policy, which takes ‘humankind’ as its referent object against anthropogenic existential threats to
human civilization and survival.

Research paper thumbnail of The Securitization of COVID-19: Three Political Dilemmas

Research paper thumbnail of Sears (2018) War and Peace in International Relations Theory - A Classroom Simulation

Journal of Political Science Education, 2018

Simulations are increasingly common pedagogical tools in political science and international rela... more Simulations are increasingly common pedagogical tools in political science and international relations courses. This article develops a classroom simulation that aims to facilitate students’ theoretical understanding of the topic of war and peace in international relations, and accomplishes this by incorporating important theoretical concepts about the causes of war found in international relations theory into the design and implementation of the simulation. In addition to sharing a successful classroom simulation with other international relations instructors, the article makes two important contributions to the pedagogical literature on simulations. First, it shows how simulation design can be usefully based on the theoretical concepts and/or substantive problems that course instructors aim to impart to their students. Second, it demonstrates that it is possible to achieve important learning objectives with low-intensity simulations that do not require a big investment of time, energy, and resources.

Citation: Nathan Alexander Sears (2018): War and Peace in International Relations Theory: A Classroom Simulation, Journal of Political Science Education 14(2): 222-239.

Research paper thumbnail of Sears (2018) 'Multiplicity – within and between'

Research paper thumbnail of Sears (2017) The Neoclassical Realist Research Program: Between Progressive Promise and Degenerative Dangers

International Politics Reviews, 2017

This essay reviews two recent books of the neoclassical realist research program, with the aim of... more This essay reviews two recent books of the neoclassical realist research program, with the aim of evaluating whether the research program should be considered 'progressive' or 'degenerative' within the International Relations tradition of realism. The essay argues that neoclassical realism's aim of bringing together unit-and structural-level causes and effects into a coherent theoretical framework is a progressive aim, but that its eclectic approach to theoretical explanation, and failure to develop a clear and coherent 'hard core' of premises and assumptions, puts the research program at risk of being degenerative. Ultimately, neoclassical realism is missing a simple and elegant statement of the theory's core logic that is capable of explaining the interaction between the unit-and system-levels-of-analysis in a way that is internally consistent with realism. As a result, the neoclassical realist research program offers both progressive strengths and degenerative weaknesses that this review essay seeks to explain.

Research paper thumbnail of Military Trends in South America, 1991-2013

Research paper thumbnail of Controlling SALW Proliferation: The Potential of the ATT

Drafts by Nathan A Sears

Research paper thumbnail of Great Powers, Polarity, and Existential Threats to Humanity: An Analysis of the Distribution of the Forces of Total Destruction in International Security

Which states possess the material capacity to destroy humanity? This paper develops a new framewo... more Which states possess the material capacity to destroy humanity? This paper develops a new framework for analysis of the "great powers" and the "structure" (or "polarity") of the system of international security, based on the distribution of the material capabilities that threaten humankind--or the "forces of total destruction." It argues that a state is a great power if it possesses national capabilities that constitute an existential threat to humanity. The empirical analysis measures the leading states in the international system--China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States--against this standard for great power status with respect to three anthropogenic existential threats to humanity: nuclear war, climate change, and artificial intelligence. It finds that three states--China, Russia, and the United States--are great powers, and therefore the system is multipolar. It concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of the analysis for our understanding of great power status, including the unequal power and differential responsibility of the great powers and the possibilities for "great power management" of existential threats in the twenty-first century.

Research paper thumbnail of Anarchy, Technology, and the Self-Destruction Hypothesis: Human Survival and the Fermi Paradox

World Futures, 2020

Does the technological capability for “self-destruction” grow faster than the political capacity ... more Does the technological capability for “self-destruction” grow faster than the political capacity to control and restraint it? If so, then the uneven growth rates between technology and politics cou...

Research paper thumbnail of Existential Security: Towards a Security Framework for the Survival of Humanity

Global Policy

Humankind faces a growing spectrum of anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and... more Humankind faces a growing spectrum of anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and survival. This article therefore aims to develop a new framework for security policy – ‘existential security’ – that puts the survival of humanity at its core. It begins with a discussion of the definition and spectrum of ‘anthropogenic existential threats’, or those threats that have their origins in human agency and could cause, minimally, civilizational collapse, or maximally, human extinction. It argues that anthropogenic existential threats should be conceptualized as a matter of ‘security’, which follows a logic of protection from threats to the survival of some referent object. However, the existing frameworks for security policy – ‘human security’ and ‘national security’ – have serious limitations for addressing anthropogenic existential threats; application of the ‘national security’ frame could even exacerbate existential threats to humanity. Thus, the existential security frame is developed as an alternative for security policy, which takes ‘humankind’ as its referent object against anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and survival.

Research paper thumbnail of International Politics in the Age of Existential Threats

Journal of Global Security Studies

Humans in the twenty-first century live under the specter of anthropogenic existential threats to... more Humans in the twenty-first century live under the specter of anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and survival. What is the significance of humanity’s capacity for self-destruction to the meaning of “security” and “survival” in international politics? The argument is that it constitutes a material “revolution” in international politics—that is, the growing spectrum of anthropogenic existential threats represents a radical transformation in the material context of international politics that turns established truths about security and survival on their heads. The paper develops a theoretical framework based in historical security materialism, especially the theoretical proposition that the material circumstances of the “forces of destruction” determine the security viability of different “modes of protection”, political “units” and “structures”, and “security ideologies” in international politics. The argument seeks to demonstrate the growing disjuncture (or “contr...

Research paper thumbnail of Controlling Small Arms and Light Weapons Proliferation : The Potential of the Arms Trade Treaty

This article examines the potential of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to strengthen international co... more This article examines the potential of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to strengthen international control over global small arms and light weapons (SALW) proliferation. Research was based primarily on existing scholarly work on SALW control, the ATT, and arms control generally, as well as on observations of the third and fourth sessions of the ATT Preparatory Committee. The first section of this article analyzes the value of the ATT to strengthen international SALW control, looking at the development of SALW control as a global security initiative, the existing system of SALW control, its weaknesses, and how the ATT could strengthen it. The second section examines the challenges and opportunities that face the ATT with respect to negotiations, implementation, monitoring and verification, and compliance. The article argues that the ATT, while not a perfect instrument of SALW control, presents significant opportunities to increase transparency and promote a “responsible arms trade,” ther...

Research paper thumbnail of War and Peace in International Relations Theory: A Classroom Simulation

Journal of Political Science Education

Research paper thumbnail of Anarchy, Technology, and the Self-Destruction Hypothesis: Human Survival and the Fermi Paradox

World Futures, 2020

Does the technological capability for "self-destruction" grow faster than the political capacity ... more Does the technological capability for "self-destruction" grow faster than the political capacity to control and restraint it? If so, then the uneven growth rates between technology and politics could provide a theoretical explanation for the "Fermi Paradox"-or the contradiction between the high probability of the existence of intelligent life, and the absence of empirical evidence for it "out there" in the universe. This paper postulates the anarchy-technology dilemma as a solution to the Fermi Paradox: in essence, intelligent civilizations develop the technological capability to destroy themselves before establishing the political structures to prevent their self-destruction.

Research paper thumbnail of International Politics in the Age of Existential Threats

Journal of Global Security Studies, 2020

Humans in the twenty-first century live under the specter of anthropogenic existential threats to... more Humans in the twenty-first century live under the specter of anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and survival. What is the significance of humanity's capacity for self-destruction to the meaning of "security" and "survival" in international politics? The argument is that it constitutes a material "revolution" in international politics-that is, the growing spectrum of anthropogenic ex-istential threats represents a radical transformation in the material context of international politics that turns established truths about security and survival on their heads. The paper develops a theoretical framework based in historical security materialism, especially the theoretical proposition that the material circumstances of the "forces of destruction" determine the security viability of different "modes of protection" , political "units" and "structures" , and "security ideologies" in international politics. The argument seeks to demonstrate the growing disjuncture (or "contradiction") between the material context of anthropogenic existential threats ("forces of destruction"); and the security practices of war, the use of military force, and the balance-of-power ("modes of protection"); the political units of nation-states and structure of international anarchy ("political superstructure"); and the primacy of "national security" and doctrines of "self-help" and "power politics" in international politics ("security ideologies"). Specifically, humanity's survival interdependence with respect to an-thropogenic existential threats calls into question the centrality of national security and survival in international politics. In an age of existential threats, "security" is better understood as about the survival of humanity.

Research paper thumbnail of Existential Security: Towards a Security Framework for the Survival of Humanity

Global Policy: Next Generation, 2020

Humankind faces a growing spectrum of anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and... more Humankind faces a growing spectrum of anthropogenic existential threats to human civilization and survival. This article therefore
aims to develop a new framework for security policy – ‘existential security’ – that puts the survival of humanity at its core.
It begins with a discussion of the definition and spectrum of ‘anthropogenic existential threats’, or those threats that have
their origins in human agency and could cause, minimally, civilizational collapse, or maximally, human extinction. It argues
that anthropogenic existential threats should be conceptualized as a matter of ‘security’, which follows a logic of protection
from threats to the survival of some referent object. However, the existing frameworks for security policy – ‘human security’
and ‘national security’ – have serious limitations for addressing anthropogenic existential threats; application of the ‘national
security’ frame could even exacerbate existential threats to humanity. Thus, the existential security frame is developed as an
alternative for security policy, which takes ‘humankind’ as its referent object against anthropogenic existential threats to
human civilization and survival.

Research paper thumbnail of The Securitization of COVID-19: Three Political Dilemmas

Research paper thumbnail of Sears (2018) War and Peace in International Relations Theory - A Classroom Simulation

Journal of Political Science Education, 2018

Simulations are increasingly common pedagogical tools in political science and international rela... more Simulations are increasingly common pedagogical tools in political science and international relations courses. This article develops a classroom simulation that aims to facilitate students’ theoretical understanding of the topic of war and peace in international relations, and accomplishes this by incorporating important theoretical concepts about the causes of war found in international relations theory into the design and implementation of the simulation. In addition to sharing a successful classroom simulation with other international relations instructors, the article makes two important contributions to the pedagogical literature on simulations. First, it shows how simulation design can be usefully based on the theoretical concepts and/or substantive problems that course instructors aim to impart to their students. Second, it demonstrates that it is possible to achieve important learning objectives with low-intensity simulations that do not require a big investment of time, energy, and resources.

Citation: Nathan Alexander Sears (2018): War and Peace in International Relations Theory: A Classroom Simulation, Journal of Political Science Education 14(2): 222-239.

Research paper thumbnail of Sears (2018) 'Multiplicity – within and between'

Research paper thumbnail of Sears (2017) The Neoclassical Realist Research Program: Between Progressive Promise and Degenerative Dangers

International Politics Reviews, 2017

This essay reviews two recent books of the neoclassical realist research program, with the aim of... more This essay reviews two recent books of the neoclassical realist research program, with the aim of evaluating whether the research program should be considered 'progressive' or 'degenerative' within the International Relations tradition of realism. The essay argues that neoclassical realism's aim of bringing together unit-and structural-level causes and effects into a coherent theoretical framework is a progressive aim, but that its eclectic approach to theoretical explanation, and failure to develop a clear and coherent 'hard core' of premises and assumptions, puts the research program at risk of being degenerative. Ultimately, neoclassical realism is missing a simple and elegant statement of the theory's core logic that is capable of explaining the interaction between the unit-and system-levels-of-analysis in a way that is internally consistent with realism. As a result, the neoclassical realist research program offers both progressive strengths and degenerative weaknesses that this review essay seeks to explain.

Research paper thumbnail of Military Trends in South America, 1991-2013

Research paper thumbnail of Controlling SALW Proliferation: The Potential of the ATT

Research paper thumbnail of Great Powers, Polarity, and Existential Threats to Humanity: An Analysis of the Distribution of the Forces of Total Destruction in International Security

Which states possess the material capacity to destroy humanity? This paper develops a new framewo... more Which states possess the material capacity to destroy humanity? This paper develops a new framework for analysis of the "great powers" and the "structure" (or "polarity") of the system of international security, based on the distribution of the material capabilities that threaten humankind--or the "forces of total destruction." It argues that a state is a great power if it possesses national capabilities that constitute an existential threat to humanity. The empirical analysis measures the leading states in the international system--China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States--against this standard for great power status with respect to three anthropogenic existential threats to humanity: nuclear war, climate change, and artificial intelligence. It finds that three states--China, Russia, and the United States--are great powers, and therefore the system is multipolar. It concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of the analysis for our understanding of great power status, including the unequal power and differential responsibility of the great powers and the possibilities for "great power management" of existential threats in the twenty-first century.