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Jon Wolfsthal
Nonresident Scholar, Nuclear Policy Program

about


Jon Wolfsthal is no longer with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Jon Wolfsthal was a nonresident scholar with the Nuclear Policy Program. From 2014 to 2017, he served as special assistant to former U.S. president Barack Obama as senior director for arms control and nonproliferation at the National Security Council. In that post, he was the most senior White House official setting and implementing U.S. government policy on all aspects of arms control, nonproliferation, and nuclear policy. Prior to that, he served as the deputy director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute for International Studies. From 2009 to 2012, he was the special adviser to then U.S. vice president Joe Biden for nuclear security and nonproliferation and as a director for nonproliferation on the National Security Council. He supported the Obama administration’s negotiation and ratification of the New START arms reduction agreement with the Russian Federation, and helped support the development of nuclear policy including through the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review. He was previously a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and, in his first stint at Carnegie, deputy director of the Nuclear Policy Program. He served in several capacities during the 1990s at the U.S. Department of Energy, including an on-the-ground assignment in North Korea from 1995 to 1996.

He is the co-author, with Joseph Cirincione, of Deadly Arsenals: Tracking Weapons of Mass Destruction and a leading authority on nuclear weapons policy, regional proliferation, arms control, and nuclear deterrence. His work has included assignments in Russia, North Korea, and travel to Iran. He is the author of dozens of scholarly articles and op-eds and has appeared on or been quoted in most leading domestic and international news media outlets.


education
B.A., Emory University
languages
English, French

All work from Jon Wolfsthal

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145 Results
In the Media
Determinants of the Nuclear Policy Options in the Obama Administration: An Interview With Jon Wolfsthal

Through an interview with a former Obama administration official, the major determinants of the president’s nuclear policy options are explored in detail.

· December 4, 2018
Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament
In the Media
What Just Happened?

The hopes for peace and disarmament are understandable, but how quickly will those commitments begin? So far the results are non-existent.

· June 12, 2018
New Republic
event
Avoiding Nuclear War—A Discussion with the Mayor of Hiroshima
June 11, 2018

Mayor of Hiroshima Kazumi Matsui describes what the people of his and other cities are doing to reduce risks of nuclear war.

In the Media
Here's How the Trump-Kim Summit Could Play Out

Regardless of how we got here, this week’s summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will be a major milestone. Considering a wide range of outcomes, we should all be hoping for progress.

· June 10, 2018
Foreign Policy
In the Media
Pompeo’s Iran Plan Is a Pipe Dream

The Trump administration does not have a plan to get Iran to do anything the United States wants. Pompeo’s new strategy to counter Iran’s behavior across the Middle East is just a long wish list of demands.

· May 21, 2018
Foreign Policy
In the Media
Anatomy of a Lousy Decision

The U.S. violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) gives Iran more nuclear options, and the West less control. Here is what President Trump is throwing away by scrapping the Iran nuclear deal.

· May 8, 2018
New Republic
In the Media
Make North Korea’s Nuclear Test Pause Permanent

The chance to end North Korea’s test program should be seized and, if successful, could form the basis for expanding direct contact and trust between Washington and Pyongyang, while expanding the global norm against nuclear testing.

· May 7, 2018
38 North
In the Media
Panmunjeom Summit, a Prelude to the Main Event

Despite the positive nature of the joint statement by the Korean leaders pledging to make progress on long-standing problems, the reality is that there is much hard work to do if the U.S.-North Korean summit is to be a success and lead to real progress.

· May 3, 2018
Kyodo News
In the Media
Trump Is Moving in the Right Direction on North Korea

The risks for a Trump-Kim summit remain high, and Trump’s notorious inconsistency and irritability cannot be dismissed.

· April 19, 2018
Foreign Policy
commentary
Here’s What the Senate Should Ask Mike Pompeo

Democratic foreign-policy veterans want answers from Trump’s pick for Secretary of State.

· April 11, 2018
Foreign Policy