Franziska Stärk
@franziskastaerk.bsky.social
620 followers 160 following 33 posts
Researcher, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH) || PhD Candidate, Erasmus University Rotterdam || Nuclear arms control & critical security studies https://ifsh.de/en/staff/staerk
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franziskastaerk.bsky.social
Thanks also to my colleagues in the arms control and new tech research team at @ifshhamburg.bsky.social and to participants of the Nuclear Knowledges seminar at Sciences Po for their helpful feedback. 🙏

10/🧵
franziskastaerk.bsky.social
I’m happy to have published my first peer-reviewed article! Huge thanks to my PhD supervisors @profonderco.bsky.social & Matthew Rendall for world-class support. I’ll be raising a glass to both tonight! 🥂

9/🧵
franziskastaerk.bsky.social
That’s why tackling intergenerational nuclear injustice is so challenging. In the article’s conclusions, I argue that its distinct nature invites both inaction and insufficient policy responses.

8/🧵
franziskastaerk.bsky.social
Hence, from the perspective of future generations, time is neither neutral nor forgiving. It works against them. In the nuclear sphere, though, it does so in subtler, less obvious ways than in the climate sphere.

7/🧵
franziskastaerk.bsky.social
However, if nuclear risk levels remain consistently elevated, the overall probability that *some* future generation will experience nuclear war cumulates over time. A grim numbers game—full explanation in the article.

6/🧵
franziskastaerk.bsky.social
We’re pretty sure our kids will face climate disruption—and our grandkids even more. With nuclear war, though, we can’t know. Bad luck could strike in the next decade, next century, or much later. The danger is rather abstract.

5/🧵
franziskastaerk.bsky.social
The crux: different risk trajectories and temporalities.

While climate risks cumulate AND intensify across generations, nuclear risks do not necessarily follow the same pattern. The likelihood of nuclear war does not inherently increase for future generations.

4/🧵
franziskastaerk.bsky.social
So far, so similar.
But intergenerational *nuclear* injustice is distinct. It stands out for...

👉 its unpredictable timeline,
👉 its resilient incentive systems, and
👉 its stagnating salience in public scrutiny.

3/🧵
franziskastaerk.bsky.social
The climate–nuclear nexus is getting lots of attention recently. And rightly so!

I examine both issues through an intergenerational ethics lens. Both tempt us into “intergenerational buck passing” – short-term gains today, long-term risks dumped on our descendants.

2/🧵
franziskastaerk.bsky.social
Climate change & nuclear weapons are often seen as twin threats to future generations. My new open access article shows that while both pose similar moral dilemmas, intergenerational nuclear injustice is harder to spot—and harder to fix.

doi.org/10.1111/1758...

1/🧵
franziskastaerk.bsky.social
I get it - no doubts about the de facto net benefit (though I’d still be genuinely curious how much difference a year makes concretely in your assessment). I just think an imperfect/last chance to negotiate a follow-on should be taken. Framing it as a gift to the adversary usually makes that harder
franziskastaerk.bsky.social
Personally, I’m not sure that framing a (however imperfect) extension as ‘breathing space’ for Russia is helpful... But I’m curious how you see the extra year making a difference in planning, upload capacities, R&D, or whatever you had in mind?
Reposted by Franziska Stärk
tbenner.bsky.social
„We have a land war on European continent. We are fully dependent on US. None of the EU members was ready to risk further escalation“.
The way @sabineweyand.bsky.social explains EU-US-deal is exactly right. She explains EU‘s trade-offs & rationale — and doesn‘t put lipstick on a pig.
(SZ-Dossier)
franziskastaerk.bsky.social
Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

#CranesForOurFuture
Reposted by Franziska Stärk
gesineweber.bsky.social
So here it is, the text of the UK-Germany friendship treaty.

Two points that struck me on security:
- clear commitment to nuclear dialogue (European panic mode is real)
- clear commitment to E3 (UK, Germany, France) and G7 - but no explicit mention of Weimar+ or E5

www.gov.uk/government/n...
Treaty between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Federal Republic of Germany on friendship and bilateral cooperation
Treaty between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Federal Republic of Germany on friendship and bilateral cooperation
www.gov.uk
Reposted by Franziska Stärk
atomicanalyst.bsky.social
80 years ago this morning—at 5:29 AM (Mountain War Time)—about 35 miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, the nuclear age began with a big bang. Contrary to widespread assumptions, the area surrounding the remote Trinity test site was not uninhabited, and the fallout did not drift away harmlessly.
A black and white, high-speed photograph of the Trinity explosion at 0.025 seconds, showing what looks like a very large, slightly irregular bubble with a curtain of dust all around its bottom edge against a pitch dark sky. A scale indicating “100 meters” shows that the fireball was already approximately three times that size. Another black and white photograph of the Trinity explosion a few milliseconds later, showing an almost ghostly mushroom cloud with glowing tendrils rising from the ground above the very bright fireball. Another black and white photograph of the Trinity explosion with the same 100-meter scale, this time at 60 seconds post-detonation, showing a very large and billowy mushroom cloud rising into the sky. Another black and white photograph of the Trinity explosion taken some minutes after the previous photograph and showing the ominous looking mushroom cloud at a distance, its top spreading out and merging with regular clouds.
Reposted by Franziska Stärk
lukasmengelkamp.bsky.social
Whatever legitimacy was left in the European rhetoric of the "rules based order" (not to mention the law based order) has now probably gone down the drain. And that will come back to bite.🔽
jjjcameron.bsky.social
European allies would be concerned that criticism could cause Trump to weaken US security guarantees under any circumstances, but especially now since the NATO summit starts this Tuesday.
henryjfoy.ft.com
EU Council President says “deeply alarmed” by US strikes and calls for “restraint and respect for international law and nuclear safety”

Expect to see lots of diplomatic tightrope walking from western states who didn’t want US to intervene but don’t want to directly condemn Trump for doing so
franziskastaerk.bsky.social
Also: There’s a bit of an unofficial social with the 'nuclear folks' happening on Thursday, 19th, at 8 PM at The Northern Whig.

Come by and join us for a beer!
franziskastaerk.bsky.social
On my way to #BISA2025 in Belfast

Join us for our panel on the climate-nuclear nexus 👇

(Not in the program, but @rhyscrilley.bsky.social will be our discussant)
gnobisa.bsky.social
Panel 3: Exploring the Climate-Nuclear Nexus

Date: June 18 (Wednesday)
Time: 13:15-14:45
Place: Panorama, Grand Central Hotel

@lauracon.bsky.social @franziskastaerk.bsky.social @nckc.bsky.social Matthew Rendall Robert Cullum Tom Vaughan Janina Dannenberg
Reposted by Franziska Stärk
nukestrat.bsky.social
Honored to co-author the second in a series of articles in @washingtonpost.com about nuclear risks and challenges facing us. This one is about accidents and incidents that nearly triggered nuclear war, others that could potentially do so. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/int...
Opinion | How nuclear war could start
Nuclear accidents are a fact of life for as long as these weapons exist.
www.washingtonpost.com
Reposted by Franziska Stärk
frankkuhn.bsky.social
Strong indicator that there will be no “denuclearization.” 👇

“[T]he Trump administration wants the annual spending on the weapon activities of the National Nuclear Security Administration to increase from $19 billion this year to roughly $30 billion in the 2026 fiscal year, a rise of 58 percent.”
Sharp Hike in Nuclear Arms Budget Sought as Science Funding Is Slashed
www.nytimes.com