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Topic · Political Science and International Relations

Nuclear Issues and Defense

Nuclear Issues and Defense is a research topic within Political Science and International Relations. Science Explorer counts 13k research works in it since 1950. 10.1% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the potential consequences of nuclear war, including its impact on climate, global food security, environmental devastation, and public health. It also delves into discussions around arms control, nuclear winter, and strategies for reducing the risks associated with nuclear conflicts. The papers highlight the urgent need to address the complex challenges posed by nuclear weapons and their potential for catastrophic global effects.

  • Nuclear War
  • Climate Consequences
  • Global Catastrophes
  • Food Insecurity
  • Environmental Impact
  • Human Security
  • Arms Control
  • Nuclear Winter
  • Global Famine
  • Public Health
Research works
13k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
1.4k
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.1%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+13%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
United States
35% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Nuclear Issues and Defense

Which countries lead Nuclear Issues and Defense research?

By volume, the United States and Russia publish the most (577 and 355 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 United States 577 works
  2. 2 Russia 355 works
  3. 3 United Kingdom 208 works
  4. 4 Ukraine 102 works
  5. 5 Germany 90 works
  6. 6 China 69 works
  7. 7 France 62 works
  8. 8 India 57 works
  9. 9 Canada 56 works
  10. 10 Australia 56 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 35.3%Russia: 21.7%United Kingdom: 12.8%Ukraine: 6.2%6 others listed: 23.9%35%largest
United States577 · 35.3%Russia355 · 21.7%United Kingdom208 · 12.8%Ukraine102 · 6.2%6 others listed390 · 23.9%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Nuclear Issues and Defense research?

By volume in 2022-now, Russian Academy of Sciences publishes the most Nuclear Issues and Defense research, followed by United States Department of Defense and King's College London.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Russian Academy of SciencesRussia 83 works
  2. 2 United States Department of DefenseUnited States 23 works
  3. 3 King's College LondonUnited Kingdom 23 works
  4. 4 National Academy of Sciences of UkraineUkraine 14 works
  5. 5 Moscow State Institute of International RelationsRussia 14 works
  6. 6 Australian National UniversityAustralia 11 works
  7. 7 Weatherford CollegeUnited States 11 works
  8. 8 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 11 works
  9. 9 Lomonosov Moscow State UniversityRussia 11 works
  10. 10 Sandia National LaboratoriesUnited States 10 works

Who are the leading researchers in Nuclear Issues and Defense?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Nuclear Issues and Defense include Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta and Alan Charles Evans.

  1. 1 Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta Pakistan 371k citations
  2. 2 Alan Charles Evans Canada 156k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Nuclear Issues and Defense?

The most cited paper in Nuclear Issues and Defense is "Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research" (Stephen M. Gibson, Tadashi Sekiguchi, Karl Lackner et al., 1987), with 3,406 citations. Next come "Containing the Atom: Sociotechnical Imaginaries and Nuclear Power in the United States and South Korea" (1,889) and "Detonative propulsion" (1,107).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research Stephen M. Gibson, Tadashi Sekiguchi, Karl Lackner et al. · MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) 1987 3,406
2 Containing the Atom: Sociotechnical Imaginaries and Nuclear Power in the United States and South Korea Sheila Jasanoff, Sang-Hyun Kim · Minerva Jun 2009 1,889
3 Detonative propulsion P. Wolański · Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 27 Nov 2012 1,107
4 Why Economic Sanctions Do Not Work Robert A. Pape · International Security Oct 1997 905
5 Nuclear Winter: Global Consequences of Multiple Nuclear Explosions RICHARD P. TURCO, Owen Brian Toon, Thomas P. Ackerman et al. · Science 23 Dec 1983 835
All 98 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Nuclear Issues and Defense research done?

The largest centres of Nuclear Issues and Defense research in 2022-now are Moscow (Russia), London (United Kingdom), Washington D.C. (United States) and Kyiv (Ukraine). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Yekaterinburg and Moscow.

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 MoscowRussia 208 works
  2. 2 LondonUnited Kingdom 65 works
  3. 3 Washington D.C.United States 58 works
  4. 4 KyivUkraine 55 works
  5. 5 Saint PetersburgRussia 37 works
  6. 6 New YorkUnited States 33 works
  7. 7 ParisFrance 33 works
  8. 8 BeijingChina 27 works
  9. 9 SeoulSouth Korea 22 works
  10. 10 YekaterinburgRussia 21 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. YekaterinburgRU · 20.6 works9.8×
  2. MoscowRU · 207.8 works8.8×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Nuclear Issues and Defense than the world average.

See Nuclear Issues and Defense on the map

Where is the best place to study Nuclear Issues and Defense?

Among universities, judged by research, King's College London, Lomonosov Moscow State University and Australian National University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%5%10%mean 6.4375%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →King's College LondonLomonosov Moscow Sta…Weatherford CollegeAustralian National …
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1King's College LondonUnited Kingdom 89.811.5%12.7×22 -31.6%
2Lomonosov Moscow State UniversityRussia 62.89.4%6.2×11 +57.2%
3Australian National UniversityAustralia 60.66.7%10.7×11 +16.5%
4Weatherford CollegeUnited States 56.69.4%4.0×11 +338.9%
5Moscow State Institute of International RelationsRussia 37.75.8%38.8×14 -29.8%
6National Research University Higher School of EconomicsRussia 36.55.1%10.6×9 +64.1%
7Ural Federal UniversityRussia 24.30.8%13.7×8 +90.5%
8National Research Nuclear University MEPhIRussia 17.12.8%33.5×9 -8.9%

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Nuclear Issues and Defense, country by country

Is Nuclear Issues and Defense research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 13% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Nuclear Issues and Defense.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Nuclear Issues and Defense as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.010% in 2024.

still counting0.020%0.040%0.060%Nuclear Issues and Defense0.010% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Nuclear Issues and Defense over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Nuclear Issues and Defense10.1% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

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