Russia, Iran, China, North Korea: The Nuclear Dimension of the Axis of Upheaval
Practical information
Accessibility
Themes and regions
Related centers and programs
This is a private event.
Learn more about our corporate support packages
In an international context marked by the resurgence of power rivalries, cooperation between Iran, China, Russia and North Korea is attracting increasing attention.
Often described as an “axis of upheaval”, these regimes maintain increasingly close bilateral partnerships which, without constituting a formal alliance, undermine international norms, particularly in terms of nuclear non-proliferation. While Russia and China are rapidly modernizing their strategic arsenals, North Korea is pursuing the qualitative development of its capabilities, and Iran is crossing technical thresholds that reduce its distance to nuclear weapons.
At the same time, these states are cooperating opportunistically - transferring technology, circumventing sanctions, providing diplomatic support - and undermining multilateral disarmament instruments. This event aims to explore the nuclear dynamics within this informal axis, its consequences for Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security, and the policy options available to states committed to the non-proliferation norm.
Speaker:
Dr. Nicole Grajewski, Research Fellow at the Nuclear Policy Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Chair:
Héloïse Fayet, head of the Deterrence and Proliferation program at Ifri.
Contact
For further information on this event, please contact Ifri's Security Studies Center ([email protected]). Access is only available to those who have received a personal invitation by e-mail.
Related Subjects
Other events
A New Moment for Central Europe? Regional Cooperation in a Time of European Strategic Choices
Recent political developments in Central Europe have revived the debate about the future of regional cooperation and the Visegrád Group. Changes in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, together with Austria’s growing interest in closer cooperation with its neighbours, could create new opportunities for dialogue and coordination around shared priorities.
China’s Nuclear Buildup: Developments, Drivers, and Implications for Major-Power Relations and Arms Control
China has been steadily expanding its nuclear arsenal for several years amid levels of geopolitical tension unseen since the end of the Cold War, marked by a resurgence in nuclear proliferation and a broader, global arms race.
Reinventing Coordination in an Age of Fragmentation 3rd Paris Geoeconomic Dialogue
The world economy is being reordered. The certainties of the post-Cold War era, open trade, dollar centrality, predictable multilateral coordination, are giving way to a landscape shaped by rivalry between the United States and China, the weaponization of interdependence, and a scramble to secure supply chains, technologies and critical resources. What once looked like a stable architecture now appears fragile, contested, and in places actively being dismantled.