The theory and practice of deterrence between the United States and the Soviet Union were predicated on the unitary, rational-actor model. Life-or-death decisions in deep crises would be made by leaders driven by rational calculations of national interest and executed…
I am working on it! I have a post up today at ForeignPolicy looking at some of the issues relating to Burma’s nuclear program. I promised to host a discussion here of the role of some of the equipment described…
Fact-checking political rhetoric has lately become something of a cottage industry in America. Getting into that line of work seems to require a cutesy visual rating system involving wooden noses, flaming trousers, or some such. But with such a sweet…
I would post one of my own pictures of the view from our office in Vienna, the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Nonproliferation — but its very cloudy. Here is a picture of the building, the Torre Andromeda, that someone took in…
Democrats were obliged to expand their base after the 1972 McGovern campaign. The Republican Party now finds itself in the same boat. Who knew? It turns out that Fox Television and hard-right radio, long the bêtes noires of liberals, are…
If you are not familiar with Ms. Elahe Mohtasham’s allegations against various persons associated with the University of Southampton, lucky you. Keep it that way and read no further. I will not dignify the allegations by repeating them. If you have…
I’ve been enjoying the comments here at the blog on my piece at Foreign Policy regarding some scary moments involving nuclear weapons. I thought I’d devote a post to a few of my favorite suggestions. 1. CASTLE BRAVO. A US…
U.S. presidential elections periodically offer a dramatic choice rather than an echo. This was Barry Goldwater’s campaign slogan in 1964 against Lyndon Baines Johnson. Voters chose LBJ in a landslide. Lop-sided victories are the usual outcome when two starkly different choices…
I have a special Halloween column up at Foreign Policy on various nuclear crisis, accidents and other near-catastrophes. As I said in the opening piece, I was struck at how much I remember correctly – but also how many things…
I was reading back issues of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists as part of a student-led effort on China’s development of the neutron bomb. I was particularly struck by an article by Harold Agnew entitled, “A Primer on Enhanced Radiation…
