Aims & Scope
The mission of the International Journal of Nuclear Security is to share and promote research and best practices in all areas of nuclear security. It provides an open access, multi-disciplinary forum for scholarship and discussion. The journal encourages diversity in theoretical foundations, research methods, and approaches, asking contributors to analyze and include implications for policy and practice. It invites submissions in the following areas:
- Science and Technology: Discoveries and developments in science and technology that impact nuclear security. These include relevant developments in cyber-security, forensic chemistry, and radiochemistry, as well as new operational systems, new understandings of the threat space, and novel methods of discerning or discovering threats.
- Operational and Intelligence Capabilities: Initiatives in improving operational capabilities (military and civilian) as well as intelligence systems that bear on nuclear security. This includes descriptions and analyses of security issues involving the detection, manipulation, transportation, and guarding of nuclear materials, as well as studies in counterterrorism, extremist ideology, global policing, insurgencies, irregular warfare, radicalization, risk management, violent crimes regarding nuclear materials or facilties, failing/fragile states, transnational crime, etc.
- Policy, Law, and Diplomacy: Studies of political initiatives and processes, and legal developments that impact proliferation or nonproliferation, export control, monitoring/verification, physical safety, and other issues relevant to nuclear security.
- Education and Training: Reports and scholarly investigations on pedagogical initiatives for nuclear security, as well programs for professional development and training (“continuing education”).
- Human Reliability: Science and technology for risk mitigation in the areas of insider threats, human assurance, and human performance risk factors. Modern studies and advances in psychological screening, credibility assessment technologies, techniques, investigations, monitoring, etc. Also retrospective analyses of historical cases in espionage and crimes related to nuclear security.
- Real-World Missions: Reports and analyses of engagements with counterterrorist operations, nuclear smuggling interdictions, espionage prevention, inspections, investigations, materials recovery operations, law enforcement initiatives, etc.
- Networking, Partnering, Engagement, Promotion: National, regional, and international initiatives promoting cooperation in nuclear security among government agencies, universities, centers, institutes, sponsors, donors, political figures, etc.—as well as events and outreach affecting public opinion and awareness related to nuclear security.
In addition to publishing articles in these areas, the International Journal of Nuclear Security runs an annual competition for graduate students submitting articles about nuclear security; winners are published in the journal and, as funding allows, receive prize/scholarship money to support them in their studies.
The journal also publishes news about conferences, seminars, and other events relevant to nuclear security, as well as descriptions of new educational programs or courses in nuclear security. IJNS hopes to publish book reviews in the future.
