Year’s End Kudos, 2015 Edition
A year of mostly bad headlines is almost behind us. ‘Tis the season not to dwell on sorrows, but to remember reasons for gratitude and good cheer. So let us pause to acknowledge those who took steps to reduce nuclear…
2015
123 posts
Global Warming Up; Arms Control Down
Climate change has displaced nuclear risk reduction as an intense focus of national leaders and activists across the globe. This sense of commitment was reflected in the Paris pact that sets targets to reduce harmful emissions to slow the pace…
Russian Cruise Missiles
Russian cruise missiles are in the news lately, from allegations from strikes in Syria to ongoing allegations that Russia is violating the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Why are the Russians so nutty for cruise missiles? Jeffrey talks to…
I Like Ike (And the Nuclear Taboo)
“I Like Ike” was a campaign slogan for Dwight David Eisenhower’s easy presidential victories in 1952 and 1956. The General who led allied forces to victory in Europe during World War II was a natural to lead the Republican Party…
The JCPOA and the Broader Conclusion
On 2 December 2015, the International Atomic Energy Agency released its final assessment on past and present outstanding issues regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Here in the United Kingdom, the report did not hit the front pages, as the parliament was…
Revisiting South Africa’s Bomb
There is a new book on South Africa’s Apartheid-era nuclear weapons program by Nic von Wielligh, who participated in the program. Originally published in Afrikaans as Die Bom: Suid-Afrika se Kernwapenprogram, the book is now available in English. (The title…
Campaign Against Red Mercury
Red Mercury. It does not exist and anyone promising you riches for it is a conman. Following CJ Chivers massive story in the New York Times magazine about the red mercury hoax, inlcuding efforts by groups like ISIS to obtain…
Second-Term Blues for Arms Control
The “Arms-Control Enterprise” is taking a beating as the “Nuclear Enterprise” is recapitalized. These trend lines have become starker during the Obama administration’s second term, mirroring the declining fortunes for arms control during President Bill Clinton’s last four years in…
Rebel With A Bomb
One of the major developments in the study of nuclear weapons has been a shift from pseudo-rationalist explanations to empirical research based on the decision-making style and outlook of actual leaders. A few years ago, Bill Potter and Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova…
Islam and the Bomb
This post on Islamic teachings from the Quran is written by Faiqa Mahmood, a Non-Resident Fellow at the Stimson Center. It’s another in a series on how traditional principles of the world’s major religions relate to the advent, possession and…
