Analysis Arms Control after Ukraine: Integrated Arms Control and Deterring Two Peer CompetitorsByHeather Williams and Nicholas AdamopoulosPublished Dec 16, 2022This paper will first examine ways that the war in Ukraine may impact prospects for arms control, then pose first-order questions about future U.S. arms control policy.
Analysis / ReportCSIS European Trilateral Track 2 Nuclear DialoguesByRebecca HersmanPublished Apr 1, 2022Consensus statement from Track 2 participants from the CSIS European Trilateral Track 2 Nuclear Dialogues with the US, UK, and France.
Analysis / ReportIntegrated Arms Control in an Era of Strategic CompetitionByRebecca Hersman, Suzanne Claeys and Heather WilliamsPublished Jan 25, 2022Can contemporary arms control keep pace with the rapid rate of change in both geopolitics and technology? This study examines the implication and prospects for the future of arms control in a highly competitive security environment in which challenges from advanced technologies and diminished state control over processes of verification become increasingly prominent features, even as the scope and modalities of arms control grow more complex and multifaceted.
Analysis / Next Gen CommunityRussia’s New Nuclear Weapons: Understanding Avangard, Kinzhal, and TsirkonByAkshai VikramPublished Aug 2, 2021The primary driver of Russia’s hypersonic build-up seems to be missile defense. President Putin said the development of these weapons was directly caused by the U.S. withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002.
Analysis / CommentaryReading the Nuclear Tea Leaves: Policy and Posture in the Biden AdministrationByRebecca Hersman and Joseph RodgersPublished Jun 14, 2021The nuclear policy community is once again in the grips of pervasive anxiety that U.S. nuclear policy—encompassing force modernization decisions, declaratory policy, and perceptions of adversary nuclear threat and risk—is either about to dramatically change or fail to change as dramatically as it should. In a polarized community characterized by mistrust and a highly politicized…
Analysis / CommentaryIt Is Time for a Realistic Bargain With North KoreaByEric Brewer and Sue Mi TerryPublished Mar 25, 2021Denuclearization Is Probably Out of Reach for Now—but It Might Be Possible to Reduce the Nuclear Threat
Analysis / Next Gen Community, ReportOn the Horizon: A Collection of the Papers from the Next GenerationByReja YounisPublished Feb 23, 2021The papers included in this volume comprise research from participants in the 2020 Nuclear Scholars Initiative and the PONI Conference Series. These papers explore such topics as the impacts of emerging technologies and capabilities, deep-diving on nuclear strategy and national policies, proposing paths forward for addressing proliferation challenges, and enhancing arms control in contentious environments. Series On The Horizon
Analysis / Commentary, Next Gen CommunityAdapting to the Hypersonic EraByIan WilliamsPublished Nov 2, 2020Conventional hypersonic strike weapons may undermine deterrence by complicating early-warning and increasing the vulnerability of forward-based forces to surprise attack below the nuclear threshold. Nevertheless, history shows that adaptation to strategically disruptive technologies is possible. Series Nuclear Nexus
Analysis / Commentary, Next Gen CommunityA Balance of Instability: Effects of a Direct-Ascent Anti-Satellite Weapons Ban on Nuclear StabilityByKaitlyn JohnsonPublished Oct 21, 2020How would new norms for testing space weapons affect nuclear stability and traditional deterrence? Would a direct-ascent ASAT limit or ban create stability or further destabilize the space and nuclear domains? Series Nuclear Nexus
Analysis / CommentaryToward a More Proliferated World? The Geopolitical Forces that Will Shape the Spread of Nuclear WeaponsByEric BrewerPublished Sep 2, 2020This joint CNAS-CSIS report identifies seven trends that are eroding the barriers to nuclear proliferation.