220 posts
After twelve years as the Co-director of Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, Scott Sagan is stepping down, ostensibly to have more time for writing. Given how prolific Scott was during his Co-directorship, I think he’s just trying to…
Since giving a presentation on North Korea’s missile trade last month in Seoul at the Asan Plenum, I’ve had a couple of requests to explain the data sources more precisely. Much of the curiosity stems from an article in the…
A couple of months ago, Mark Hibbs wrote a nice little post here about China’s interest in commercial-scale reprocessing for its spent nuclear fuel. If you recall, a few reporters got unnecessarily excited about China’s announcement of initial operations at…
In the 1970s, it was insufficient to offer state and local authorities a massive new military base. The Federal Government also needed to provide sweeteners like new schools to handle the influx of military personnel, government workers, and defense contractors.…
The Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) is the intelligence entity that looks for nuclear explosions, although if you are a regular reader you probably know that already. You probably also know that, even by the standards of the US…
One theme in the Stimson Center’s Escalation Control and the Nuclear Option in South Asia (2004) is that deterrence is an abstract notion that sometimes fails real world tests. Crisis management and escalation control then become paramount, as was the…
On occasion, I offer a public service announcement. My friend, Bruce MacDonald, is teaching a week-long class along with Mike Lekson at USIP. I sent one of my research assistants to a previous iteration of the class and he had…
The German federal government has published in its journal of record its answer to questions submitted a month ago by lawmakers concerning the then-upcoming 2011 plenary meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Particularly interesting is what Germany had to…
When trying to learn about mechanisms to avoid unintended escalation, it’s usually a good idea to listen to people with operational experience. In South Asia, this means trying to meet with the Director-General Military Operations of the Pakistan and Indian…
On July 11, a massive explosion ripped through an ammunition dump at the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base in Cyprus. The explosion and ensuing fire have killed a dozen people, including the commander of the Cypriot Navy. The main power station…
