Queer Nukes for Peace

Sneha Nair

The Biden-Harris administration, Fox News reports, has appointed Sneha Nair as a special assistant at the National Nuclear Security Administration. Prior to the appointment, Nair served as a research analyst with the Nuclear Security Program at the Stimson Center. The special assistant earned a masters in geography and international relations from the University of St. Andrews,  but there’s more to her.

Sneha Nair is co-author of “Queering nuclear weapons: How LGBTQ+ inclusion strengthens security and reshapes disarmament,” published by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Louis Reitmann

Her co-author Louis Reitmann, is a research associate at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation and a board member of the Emerging Voices Network, organized by the British American Security Information Council (BASIC).  Reitman earned an MSc in international relations from the London School of Economics. In “Queering nuclear weapons”

Reitmann and Nair contend:

Equity and inclusion for queer people is not just a box-ticking exercise in ethics and social justice; it is also essential for creating effective nuclear policy. Studies in psychology and behavioral science show that diverse teams examine assumptions and evidence more carefully, make fewer errors, discuss issues more constructively, and better exchange new ideas and knowledge.

 Diversity and inclusion are especially important for the policy community dealing with arsenal development and nuclear posture. Women familiar with this “nuclear priesthood” describe it as “male-dominated and unwelcoming.” Homogenous groups like this are prone to groupthink and hostile to critical examination of baseline assumptions about how adversaries construct and identify nuclear threats and risks.

 Queer identity is also relevant for the nuclear field because it informs theories that aim to change how officials, experts, and the public think about nuclear weapons. Queer theory is a field of study, closely related to feminist theory, that examines sex- and gender-based norms. It shines a light on the harm done by nuclear weapons through uranium mining, nuclear tests, and the tax money spent on nuclear weapons ($60 billion annually in the United States) instead of on education, infrastructure, and welfare.

 Queer theory is also about rejecting binary choices and zero-sum thinking, such as the tenet that nuclear deterrence creates security and disarmament creates vulnerability. It identifies the assumptions and interests these ideas are built on—and imagines alternatives that serve a broader range of interests, including those of the invisible and resource-stripped.

 It is up to allies, people in power, and the institutions they serve to vocalize their support for LGBTQ+ inclusion, not just because it is the right thing to do, but also because queer people add value to nuclear weapons policy and discourse. Decision makers should look to LGBTQ+ inclusion for better nuclear policy outcomes, and build environments in which queer people can bring their specific skills and lived experiences to bear without fear. Arguments to the contrary are as stagnant and outdated as those who voice them.

It had all been so obscure until the erudite Louis and Sneha cleared it up. No word how China, Russia, and  North Korea are queering their nuclear arsenals, or how LGBTQ+ insights will affect Iran’s nukes. On the other hand, with special assistant Sneha Nair at the National Nuclear Security Administration, Americans can rest easy.