Analysis / ReportGame On: Opportunities for Euro-Atlantic Strategic Stability and Arms ControlByHeather Williams, Nicholas Adamopoulos, Lachlan Mackenzie and Catherine MurphyPublished Apr 23, 2025Europe is likely to remain a theater of instability despite pressure for a peace settlement in Ukraine. As the United States shifts toward the Indo-Pacific and Russia continues to pursue its territorial ambitions, what might arms control look like after the war in Ukraine?
Analysis / ReportWhat Allies Want: European Priorities in a Contested Security EnvironmentByNicholas AdamopoulosPublished May 13, 2025While the United States remains committed to NATO, it its placing growing pressure on its allies to shoulder more of the burden for European defense. As allies shoulder a growing conventional burden, they want to ensure US extended deterrence commitments remain.
Analysis / CommentaryOptions for the United States to Resolve the Iran Nuclear ChallengeByHeather Williams and Joseph RodgersPublished Apr 2, 2026By relying on the nuclear justification for the war with Iran, Trump may have painted himself into a corner because now, the end of the war must also have a nuclear solution.
Analysis / Next Gen CommunityKazakhstan Chose Russia and China for Its Reactors. Washington Wasn’t Even in the Room.ByAlexei (Frank) HoffmanPublished Feb 24, 2026Kazakhstan’s June 2025 decision to award its first three nuclear power plants to Russia’s Rosatom and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) exposes a blind spot in U.S. strategy toward Central Asia.
Analysis The Negotiator Files: A Conversation with Ambassador Ronald LehmanByCSIS PONIPublished Feb 20, 2026In this episode of The Negotiator Files, Ambassador Ronald Lehman discusses his role as the chief U.S. negotiator of the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I). He describes U.S. objectives to limit Soviet fast-flying missiles as well as negotiations over the treaty’s verification measures. Lehman then proceeds to explain the key agreements of the… Series The Negotiator Files
Analysis / CommentarySatellite Imagery Analysis of China’s Alleged 2020 Nuclear Test at Lop NurByJoseph Rodgers and Joseph S. Bermudez Jr.Published Feb 13, 2026New CSIS PONI Analysis from Joseph Rodgers and Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. examine satellite imagery from China’s Lop Nur test site, assessing claims that 2020 activity may have gone beyond a “zero-yield” standard.
Analysis / Commentary2026 CSIS European Trilateral Track 2 Nuclear DialoguesByHeather WilliamsPublished Feb 12, 2026Intensifying strategic challenges and growing nuclear risks reinforce the need for continued unity and close coordination among the United States, the United Kingdom, and France as responsible nuclear weapons states within NATO.
Analysis The Negotiator Files – A Conversation With Rose GottemoellerByCSIS PONIPublished Feb 6, 2026This interview is a part of CSIS PONI’s Arms Control Knowledge Transfer Initiative (ACKTI), a program designed to preserve knowledge through senior expert interviews and primary source archival research, to educate the next generation of arms control experts on all aspects of arms control, including negotiation, implementation, inspection, and more. The full transcript and more information on the project can be found here: https://ackti-archive.csis.org/. Series The Negotiator Files
Analysis / CommentaryThree Truths About the End of New START and What It Means for Strategic CompetitionByHeather WilliamsPublished Feb 2, 2026The expiration of New START does not necessarily foretell an arms race or a massive U.S. nuclear buildup. Instead, the expiration of the treaty may be an opportunity for a new era of arms control.
Analysis / Next Gen CommunitySILEX: Laser Enrichment Between Promise and Proliferation RiskByKobe YoungPublished Jan 16, 2026SILEX could materially strengthen civilian nuclear fuel supply and energy security, but its efficiency, compact footprint, and reliance on laser technologies also create new challenges for IAEA safeguards and NPT nonproliferation norms.
Analysis The Negotiator Files: A Conversation with Lewis DunnByCSIS PONIPublished Jan 15, 2026This interview is a part of CSIS PONI’s Arms Control Knowledge Transfer Initiative (ACKTI), a program designed to preserve knowledge through senior expert interviews and primary source archival research, to educate the next generation of arms control experts on all aspects of arms control, including negotiation, implementation, inspection, and more. The full transcript and more information on the project can be found here: https://ackti-archive.csis.org/. Series The Negotiator Files
Analysis / ReportProject Atom 2025: Escalation Management in Acute and Protracted Conflicts in the Indo-PacificByHeather Williams, Lachlan Mackenzie, Elena Tiedens, Mike Albertson, Matthew Costlow, Adam Mount, Kori Schake and Rebecca ShrimptonPublished Jan 8, 2026To generate new thinking on the risks of escalation in the Indo-Pacific, the Project on Nuclear Issues invited a group of experts to develop competing strategies for managing escalation with China.