"This project deals with the increasingly strong relationship between the European Union (EU) and international non-proliferation institutions in the field of nuclear and chemical weapons, in particular the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Australia Group. Its overall research objective is to understand better the still under-researched and under-theorized area of EU interaction with these international institutions. Using a qualitative research design based on primary sources, in particular elite interviews, and on secondary sources from a wide variety of fields, including European integration, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and international organizations, the project will focus in particular on two issues: (1) to what extent the EU makes a difference in international non-proliferation institutions and (2) to what extent these institutions have influenced the EU. The project will make significant contributions to the theoretical literature in this field; it will advance the empirical knowledge of multilateral policies in the fight against the proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons; and it will bring about research results that are relevant for policy-makers that are directly affected by ‘Europe’s changing role in the world’, especially in regard to current proliferation challenges such as Iran, India and WMD terrorism. At the same time, based on a previously established Personal Career Development Plan the experienced researcher will receive at his host institution relevant training in new skills such as open source intelligence and mentoring by a very prominent researcher in the field of WMD non-proliferation. This will not only assure the success of this project, but it will also turn the experienced researcher into an independent and professionally mature scholar."