Program
Nuclear Policy
U.S. Nuclear Policy

The United States faces a series of critically important decisions on nuclear procurement, posture, and declaratory policy. Which policies will best ensure effective deterrence while minimizing the risks of escalation and arms racing?

In The Media
in the media
The Post-Cold-War Nuclear Disarmament Period Is Over, Pentagon Says

A conversation about the dangers of what is being called the new nuclear age.

· August 25, 2024
NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday
event
The Future of U.S. Nuclear Arms Control Policy
July 25, 2024

As Russia, China, and the United States build new nuclear weapons systems, the prospects for negotiating formal arms control treaties appear dim. The Biden administration continues to explore and support new pathways to manage nuclear risks, but Moscow and Beijing have thus far refused offers to substantively engage. Please join us for a discussion of the present and future of nuclear arms control.

event
A New Missile Age in the Indo-Pacific
October 31, 2023

Nuclear and nonnuclear missile capabilities are quickly spreading the Indo-Pacific. What is driving this surge, and what are the consequences for possible nuclear escalation in future crises on the Korean Peninsula and in the Taiwan Strait? Join Carnegie for an event addressing this and more.

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New Voices: 2023 Conference on Diversity in Nuclear Policy
July 13, 2023

Rising nuclear dangers demand the recruitment of new and diverse voices to the nuclear policy field. This one-day, interactive event for interns, students, and young professionals will provide opportunities for networking, mentorship, and substantive nuclear policy discussions with guest speakers.

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  • Naoko Aoki
  • Frank Aum
  • Suzanne DiMaggio
  • Nola Haynes
  • Bonnie Jenkins
  • Nomsa Ndongwe
  • Luis Rodriguez
  • Terrell Starr
  • Pranay Vaddi
  • Reja Younis
event
How Climate Change Impacts Nuclear Weapons
July 12, 2023

Most nuclear states are undertaking modernization campaigns to ensure their nuclear weapons are viable for decades to come. While aimed to address a changing geostrategic environment, do these plans account for a changing geophysical environment? Are nuclear weapons vulnerable to climate change?

article
How the United States Can Use AUKUS to Strengthen Nuclear Nonproliferation

The AUKUS security pact between Australia, the UK, and the United States will create precedents that could be used by other countries to pursue nuclear weapons. Here’s how the partners could reduce this risk.

· December 16, 2021
In The Media
in the media
Toward a Just U.S. Nuclear Declaratory Policy

Ultimately, if the United States wishes to retain or restore its international leadership in a global nuclear order, its declaratory policy should be one that Americans and others would find relatively acceptable if other states adopted it.

· March 9, 2021
event
Nuclear Policy and Posture in the Biden Administration
February 5, 2021

In “Proportionate Deterrence: A Model Nuclear Posture Review,” George Perkovich and Pranay Vaddi provide analysis and recommendations for the Biden Administration. Please join the authors for a conversation about their recommendations with Michèle Flournoy.

report
Proportionate Deterrence: A Model Nuclear Posture Review

Since the 1990s, every U.S. presidential administration has published a Nuclear Posture Review that explains the rationales behind its nuclear strategy, doctrine, and requested forces. The review envisioned and summarized here explicitly elucidates the dilemmas, uncertainties, and tradeoffs that come with current and possible alternative nuclear policies and forces.

· January 21, 2021
commentary
A New U.S. Missile Defense Test May Have Increased the Risk of Nuclear War

A November 2020 U.S. missile defense test stands to upend strategic stability and complicate future arms control. The test marks a crossing of the Rubicon, with irreversible implications.

· November 19, 2020
In the Media
Better Informing a President’s Decision on Nuclear Use

As long as the order can be certified as coming from the president, and as long as military officials involved in implementing the decision do not object to the order as violating the law of armed conflict, U.S. forces are expected to carry out the order.

· November 9, 2020
Lawfare Blog
article
Elections, Nukes, and the Future of the South Korea–U.S. Alliance

The stage is set for a potentially disruptive period in South Korea–U.S. security relations. If tensions are allowed to build, the alliance could rupture.

· October 26, 2020