Nuclear Strategy &
Nonproliferation Initiative

Archives: Nuclear Strategy & Nonproliferation Initiative Events

Thinking Through the Thinkable on a Nuclear Iran

Friday, April 16, 2010 - 12:15pm

On Friday, April 16, Thomas Schelling spoke at the New America Foundation at a talk entitled “Thinking Through the Thinkable on a Nuclear Iran.” The premise of the discussion was that, in his view, there was no real way of stopping Iran from gaining nuclear weapons. Therefore, we must think about how Iran will manage its weapons, what type of capability it will likely pursue, and the likelihood of Iran actually using a nuclear weapon.

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Strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 - 4:30pm

Unlike the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) has no mechanism to ensure compliance and verification.

Given the dramatic advances in the life sciences over the past decade, the international community urgently needs to discuss strengthening the BWC.

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Who Should Own Our Nuclear Weapons?

Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 1:15pm

In a surprise move in February 2009, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) asked officials to evaluate the prospect of moving the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) -- which is charged with guardianship over the United States' nuclear weapons complex -- from the Department of Energy to the Department of Defense. The forthcoming Strategic Posture Commission's report will likely suggest restructuring the NNSA as well.

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Is the Nuclear Test Ban Verifiable?

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - 10:00am

Jeffrey Lewis, director of the Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative, moderated a panel discussion featuring Verification Research, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC) Senior Researcher Andreas Persbo, the Arms Control Association’s Senior Technical Advisor David Hafemeister, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Nonproliferation Associate James Acton on the verifiability of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

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The Myth of Nuclear Deterrence

Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 3:30pm

On Thursday the New America Foundation hosted Ward Wilson, winner of the 2008 Doreen and Jim McElvany Nonproliferation Challenge, to examine the underpinnings of nuclear deterrence theory. Joined by Jeffrey Lewis, Director of the Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative, Wilson challenged the belief that nuclear weapons continue to serve a useful purpose in the world. An MP3 audio recording can be downloaded below, while video is available at right.

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Posturing About the Future of Nuclear Weapons

Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - 1:15pm

The next President will conduct yet another Nuclear Posture Review -- the third since the end of the Cold War. What's the point? Will it be any different or just more of the same?

At this May 20 New America event, Dr. Janne Nolan tackled these tough questions and others. Dr. Nolan, currently a professor of international affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, is author of An Elusive Consensus: Nuclear Weapons and American Security after the Cold War, considered to be the definitive study of the 1994 Nuclear Posture Review.

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How Many Nuclear Weapons Do We Need?

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - 3:30pm
On May 7th the New America Foundation’s Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative joined AAAS’s Center for Science, Technology, and Security Policy for a discussion on the present and future role of nuclear weapons in U.S. and World security. The event featured Dr. Arnold Kanter, Principle and Founding Member of the Scowcroft Group, Dr. Morton Halperin, Director of U.S. Advocacy for the Open Society Institute, and Dr. Barry Blechman, co-founder of the Harry L. Stimson Center. Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, Director of the Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative, moderated the event.
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How Many Nukes Does it Take?

Friday, April 18, 2008 - 1:15pm
Most scholars and policymakers favor stemming the tide of nuclear proliferation, even as they acknowledge the pacifying effects of established nuclear arsenals on great power relations. When it comes to nuclear arsenals, how robust must a country's nuclear arsenal be--how much is enough? Some of the key variables in existing studies - e.g., the nuclear "balance of power" - have been poorly conceived, and the data used to measure the nuclear balance and its effect on policy has come from suspect sources.
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Nuclear Mind Reading

Wednesday, April 9, 2008 - 1:15pm
On April 9th, Jeffrey Lewis, director of the Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative, hosted James Acton, a Lecturer in the Centre for Science and Security Studies in the Department of War Studies at King's College London for a talk entitled "Nuclear Mind Reading: Iran's Nuclear Intentions and the IAEA". Acton analyzed the IAEA's ability to assess states' intent?as opposed to their capabilities?and then asked what the IAEA means when it announces that an issue is ?no longer considered to be outstanding.?
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Space Race With China?

Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - 12:15pm
Before China carried out an anti-satellite test in January 2007, some U.S. policy-makers, including NASA Administrator Michael Griffin and the U.S. House China Working Group, advocated greater cooperation between the United States and China in space. After the test, which created a massive cloud of space debris that angered international space professionals and alarmed the American public, increased references to U.S.-China competition and hints of a new space race drowned out calls for cooperation.
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