At the start of March 2025 the Atomic Anxiety in the New Nuclear Age team attended the third Meeting of States Parties for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The event took place 3-7 March at the United nations Headquarters in New York City.
The delegation was led by Dr Rhys Crilley and included Dr Carolina Pantoliano, alongside two 2025 Fellows; Rhys Lewis-Jones and Ying Li.
ICAN Campaigner Forum
The week began on 2 March with the team in attendance at the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Campaigner Forum , where Rhys was invited to contribute to a panel discussion on ‘Dealing with nuclear weapons from deterrence to apathy’.
Rhys was asked about what has made peace and disarmament movements successful in the past, and contributed preliminary findings from the Atomic Anxiety in the New Nuclear Age project, as well as offering broader insights from social science research on nuclear weapons.
The panel took place in the historic Riverside Church, and Rhys joined the panel alongside Molly McGinty (IPPNW), Sven Clement (MP from Luxembourg), Ambassador Marthinus Van Schalkwyk (South Africa), and Edwick Madzimure (WILPF).
Over 300 participants from 35 countries attended the forum which provided a space for participants to discuss efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons and support justice for those affected by nuclear weapons use and testing.
UN Side Event and Working Paper
On 3 March, Dr Rhys Crilley and Dr Carolina Pantoliano co-hosted a side event inside the UN with ward Wilson of Realist Revolt to explore ‘The key to elimination: Debunking the myths of the Third Nuclear Age’.
At the side event Rhys and Carolina launched the working paper they submitted to the meeting of states parties on the topic of ‘Advancing Nuclear Disarmament in the Third Nuclear Age’. The working paper provides policymakers, civil society organisations, and those who support disarmament with an introduction to the development of the Third Nuclear Age and what this means for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The working paper is available to download for free and read on the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs website.
The side event was chaired by Dr Jana Wattenberg from Aberystwyth University, and closing reflections were delivered by Dr Olamide Samuel of the Open Nuclear Network and co-author of the new book The Global Third Nuclear Age.
The side event was extremely well attended, with an engaged audience and an interactive question and answer session.
Public Engagement
Over the course of the week, the team participated in several public engagement activities. The National newspaper reported on Rhys’s comments about multilateral nuclear treaties, and interviewed him about his research on the new nuclear age:
Rhys also spoke with the social media influencer Chris Valenti about nuclear weapons:
As well as pop culture and how representations of nuclear weapons in everyday spaces matter:
Whilst in New York, Carolina gave an online talk to the Disarmament and Security Centre Student Workshop at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, where she reported on what was happening at the TPNW 3MSP.
Over the course of the week the team met with project partners, civil society organisations, state delegations, activists, and media from across the world.
Pub Quiz
The week was capped off with the Lex International pub quiz, where team ‘Atomicly Anxious’ came a very respectable fourth place.
Preparations are already underway for the next round, when states parties to the TPNW meet for the first review conference in late 2026.
Atomic Anxiety in the New Nuclear Age 
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