The successful implementation of UN Resolution 1540 depends on the committee’s ability to create an environment where member states can develop a sense of local ownership for the resolution.
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Analysis
Read PONI-community research from emerging scholars and expert authors.
analysis
U.S.-China Nuclear Deterrence and The South China Sea
With the possibility that China will deploy its JIN-class submarine fleet during this contentious time, dialogue between the US and China has become evermore important in order to avoid misunderstandings that could lead to escalation to conventional or even a nuclear confrontation.
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Engineering and Policy
Sensible policy aspirations must balance aspirational visions of the future with a clear understanding of the cost and value of the nuclear weapons engineering enterprise.
analysis
The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant: A Tale of Success or Tragedy? TBD
While moving ahead with the project asserts Turkey’s commitment to commercial nuclear collaboration, the country is not ready for the Akkuyu NPP, nor is the world ready for another Fukushima incident.
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Deterring Nuclear Terrorism
Shaping terrorist adversaries’ perceptions of U.S. security is possible, and convincing them that an attempted attack with a radiological or nuclear device would fail and would have devastating consequences should remain one of America’s highest priorities.
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Waiting for Washington: U.S. clarity and guidance are vital to the JCPOA
While it is often difficult to parse reasonable criticisms from Iran’s standard litany of anti-U.S. rhetoric, complaints that the United States is not upholding its end of the deal are not entirely unfounded. It has long been understood that the bulk of the new trade and investment that Iran could expect under the JCPOA would not come from the United States, given the extensive web of U.S. sanctions that would remain in place, but from Europe, Russia, and China.
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Moderate the alliance outliers
Both South Korea and Turkey enjoy explicit nuclear guarantees. Yet under the Obama administration, relations with each have lurched to opposite ends of the ‘reassurance spectrum.’ As a result, both feel less secure than they should.
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If We Were Them, Would We Be Deterred?
The success of deterrence has become increasingly difficult to measure. While nuclear weapons are still successfully used every day to deter some adversaries the question remains are all adversaries deterred by our nuclear forces?
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Losing the Nuclear Edge
The need to recruit and retain scientists and engineers remains a common theme among U.S. government agencies. The nuclear enterprise is no exception. Throughout the Department of Energy and Department of Defense, the colloquially named “gray beards” provide the technical expertise.
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The Importance of Intrinsic Motivators for Missile Combat Crews
In early 2014, the ICBM community was rocked by a cheating scandal that has profoundly affected the way they train. In response to the scandal, Air Force Global Strike Command initiated the Force Improvement Program to improve training, evaluation, and morale in the nuclear community.

