Lyndon Burford

King's College London, Centre for Science and Security Studies, Post-Doc

The University of Auckland, Politics and International Relations, Graduate Student

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Lyndon Burford is a Visiting Research Associate at the Centre for Science and Security Studies, King's College London, and a blockchain specialist on the New Technologies for Peace working group within the Vatican COVID-19 Commission. He studies the politics, theories and technologies of nuclear nuclear disarmament and deterrence, and has a PhD in International Relations from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His thesis examined the role of national identity as a driver for nuclear disarmament advocacy by Canada and New Zealand.In 2015, Lyndon was the civil society advisor on the New Zealand delegation to the NPT Review Conference in New York. In 2011, Lyndon won the McElvany Nonproliferation Challenge, hosted by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey, an award that recognises innovative thinking in disarmament and arms control. His winning essay explores the idea of a user pays system for funding international nuclear risk mitigation. From 2009-2018, Lyndon was a New Zealand representative on the Disarmament and Nonproliferation Study Group hosted by the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, the track-II diplomatic branch of the ASEAN Regional Forum. Lyndon has a first class MA in Political Science and a first class Honours degree in Diplomacy and International Relations, both from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. His undergraduate studies focused on Russian and French language and culture, and he has worked and lived in both countries.

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Papers by Lyndon Burford

Evidence submitted to Inquiry on Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Nuclear Disarmament

If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version for pagination... more If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version for pagination, volume/issue, and date of publication details. And where the final published version is provided on the Research Portal, if citing you are again advised to check the publisher's website for any subsequent corrections.

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National Identity and Nuclear Disarmament Advocacy by Canada and New Zealand

Nuclear disarmament dynamics are under-studied and under-theorised. Constructivists hold that ide... more Nuclear disarmament dynamics are under-studied and under-theorised. Constructivists hold that identities determine interests and thus, policy preferences, but there has been virtually no investigation of national identity as a driver for nuclear disarmament policy. This thesis investigates the drivers of nuclear disarmament advocacy by Canada and New Zealand, focusing on the activation of anti-nuclear weapon national identities as a key explanatory factor. The thesis presents four comparative case studies-two each from Canada and New Zealand. Each case examines the dominant nuclear weapon-related national identity tropes of three constituencies-senior government ministers, bureaucrats and the public-and traces the processes through which various actors seek to have these identities expressed in policy. Since identities inform preferences but do not necessarily determine policy, the case studies also consider how contextual factors-alliance commitments, normative context, civil society activity and great power relations-affect the expression of anti-nuclear weapon identities. Canada's decision not to acquire nuclear weapons, despite being able to, is a touchstone for a popular, pro-disarmament 'peacemaker' identity. However, security policymakers almost always prioritise the identity of Canada as a strong US ally and thus, supporter of nuclear deterrence. The Canadian cases represent attempts by two prominent norm entrepreneurs to break this patternthe first, during a Cold War crisis in superpower relations, and the second, during the post-Cold War superpower rapprochement. In both cases, a 'disarmament/deterrence conundrum' was evident; that is, the activation of anti-nuclear weapon identities produced nuclear disarmament advocacy, but it was significantly constrained by conflicting, alliance-based identities and the related norms of solidarity and nuclear deterrence. For generously hosting me as a visiting researcher, and for their warm welcome and valuable assistance with fieldwork, I offer my sincere thanks to Professor Brian Job at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, and to Professor T.V. Paul of McGill University, Montreal. Thanks also to Sally Reay at UBC for her kind assistance with the logistics of fieldwork in Vancouver. I also want to sincerely thank the many colleagues and friends who have read and commented on various draft chapters and sketches along the way. Thank you Kate Dewes,

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New software for modelling impacts of regional nuclear war: relevance to New Zealand

... Nick Wilson Senior Lecturer University of Otago, Wellington [email protected]. Lyndon B... more

New Zealand and Disarmament: Where National and Global Interests Converge

The World of Small States

Over several decades, New Zealand has built a strong, bipartisan record for constructive disarmam... more Over several decades, New Zealand has built a strong, bipartisan record for constructive disarmament and arms control policies. This contributes significantly to its reputation as a relatively independent, principled international actor. It reflects and reinforces New Zealand’s role as a champion of a rules-based international order, and defender of the rights and interests of small states.

New software for modelling impacts of regional nuclear war: relevance to New Zealand

Journal of the New …, 2009

... Nick Wilson Senior Lecturer University of Otago, Wellington [email protected]. Lyndon B... more

Defining the nuclear disarmament norm

In April 2014, the Marshall Islands announced it was suing all nine nuclear armed states for a pu... more In April 2014, the Marshall Islands announced it was suing all nine nuclear armed states for a purported failure to meet their nuclear disarmament obligations under international law. Logically speaking, the veracity of that charge depends on precisely what those disarmament obligations are. This paper presents an interpretation of existing international obligations relating to nuclear disarmament, based on an almost universally-recognised legal methodology – articles 31-32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. In doing so, the paper offers a preliminary answer to the question, what is the international norm of nuclear disarmament? In other words, what are the collective expectations of international society regarding nuclear disarmament?

Principled Pragmatism: Non-Governmental Influence on New Zealand Nuclear Disarmament Advocacy 1995–2000

From 1995 to 2000, transnationally active, New Zealand non-governmental organisations and individ... more From 1995 to 2000, transnationally active, New Zealand non-governmental organisations and individuals influenced New Zealand nuclear disarmament policy in significant and sometimes pivotal ways. During this period, New Zealand emerged as a global norm leader, experiencing the zenith of its influence on international nuclear disarmament diplomacy. As such, the NGO activity examined here also had significant downstream effects on international political, legal and normative developments. This article broadens the body of empirical data on the work of transnational disarmament advocacy. Its findings reinforce and deepen constructivist under- standings about the importance of non-traditional actors and ideational factors such as norms, identity, and ethics in the conduct of international relations.

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No Such Thing as a Free Lunch: A Nuclear-User-Pays Model of International Security

The funding of international nuclear risk mitigation is ad hoc, voluntary, and unpredictable, off... more The funding of international nuclear risk mitigation is ad hoc, voluntary, and unpredictable, offering no transparent explanation of who is financially responsible for the task or why. Among many non-nuclear-armed states, this exacerbates a sense of injustice surrounding what they see as a discriminatory nuclear regime. The resulting erosion of the regime’s legitimacy undermines support for efforts to prevent nuclear weapons dissemination and terrorism. This article proposes a transparent, equitable ‘‘nuclear-user-pays’’ system as a logical means of reversing this trend. This system envisions states contributing financially to international efforts to mitigate nuclear risks at a level relative to the degree of nuclear risks created by each state. ‘‘National nuclear risk factors’’ would be calculated by tabulating the risks associated with each state’s civilian and military nuclear activities, as well as advanced dual-use and nuclear-capable missile activities, multiplying the severity of each risk by the probability of it occurring, and combining these results. A nuclear-user-pays model would create financial incentives for national and corporate nuclear risk mitigation, boost legitimacy and support for nuclear control efforts among non-nuclear armed states, assist in preventing nuclear weapons dissemination and terrorism, and advance nuclear disarmament by helping progressively devalue nuclear weapons.

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(MA thesis): Principled pragmatism: non-governmental influence on New Zealand nuclear disarmament advocacy 1995–2000