Article on Russian nuclear strategy during the Ukraine war wins McElvany Prize

Lydia Wachs, PhD student in International Relations, receives the highest honor of the "Doreen and Jim McElvany Nonproliferation Award" for an acclaimed article on Russia's nuclear weapons strategy during the Ukraine war.

Lydia Wach's research focuses on the role of the Soviet Union/Russia in the global nuclear weapons order, particularly its nuclear weapons assistance and non-proliferation policies.

We are pleased to announce that Lydia Wachs, a doctoral student in international relations, has been awarded the highest honor of the "Doreen and Jim McElvany Nonproliferation Award" for the article "Russian nuclear roulette? Elites and public debates on nuclear weapons in Moscow after Ukraine". The article was published in the James Martin Center's Nonproliferation Review and has been praised for using open source material to question widely held narratives about Russian nuclear weapons strategy.

Theme

International Relations and Migration

Research subject

International Security

Last updated: October 13, 2025

Source: Department of Economic History and International Relations

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