The Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) will host its 2024 Fall Conference at Stanford University on September 27th. The conference will explore topics related to the two peer challenge, including the emergence of China as a nuclear peer, competition with Russia, how to deter two nuclear peers, the opportunistic aggression challenge, and arms control in a tripolar environment. An agenda is forthcoming and the conference will be in-person only. Registration and applications for the conference have closed. Why Attend? The PONI Conference Series is unique in that it brings together junior and senior level professionals from the military, national laboratories, industry, academia, and policy sphere to hear select presentations on a range of topics related to nuclear weapons policy and strategy, including research related to deterrence, the NPT and nonproliferation, modernization, regional nuclear studies, and other related fields. The Conference Series provides presenters with a visible platform for sharing their thinking on a wide range of nuclear issues. PONI conferences provide excellent opportunities for rising professionals to present and receive feedback on their research from a diverse group of experts and stakeholders in the nuclear community. Our conferences are also a great way to build connections with academics, national lab representatives, military officers, policymakers, and industry representatives from across the nuclear enterprise. This event is made possible through the generous support of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and U.S. national nuclear laboratories. PONI 2024 Summer Conference is not for attribution. Agenda Conference Check in and Breakfast 8:15 am Welcome Remarks 8:45 am Joseph Rodgers, Deputy Director, Project on Nuclear Issues Panel 1: Preparing for a New Era of Competition 9:00am Moderator: Alexander Montgomery, Professor of Political Science, Reed College Same as it Ever Was: Persisting Challenges within the Nuclear Security Enterprise, Joseph Labrum Maintaining the Moratorium on Nuclear Testing in a New Nuclear Age, Jaewoo Shin Tripolarity, Resolve, and Nuclear Risks, Deye Li On the Eve of a World Without New START: Or How There’s Still No Such Thing as a “Nonstrategic” Nuclear Weapon, Ashley Wiser Coffee Break 10:30 am Panel 2: Reassessing Dynamics with Allies and Adversaries 10:45am Moderator: Stephanie Stapleton, Research Analyst, Center for Naval Analyses Sheltered Escalation: Extended Deterrence and South Korea’s Survival Strategy, Jung Jae Kwon Risk with Chinese Characteristics: Understanding the PRC’s Unique Perceptions of Strategic Risk for Effective Nuclear Deterrence, Martina Bouder Redefining Rivalry: The US China Nuclear Peer Debate from a Chinese Perspective, Jie Gao Caught in Ally: Europe and the Two-Peer Deterrence Challenge, Shreya Lad Lunch 12:15 pm Keynote Address 1:15 pm Dr. Scott Sagan, Caroline S.G. Munro Professor of Political Science; Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate Education; Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; Co-director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation Break 2:15 pm Panel 3: The Latest from CSIAC 2:30 pm Moderator: Rupal Mehta, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Security Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Atomic Hawks: Opposition Parties and War, Fahd Humayun Parsing Precision and Perception: Evaluating Second Strike Vulnerability, Lindsay Rand Alliance Reassurance and the Image of the Imperial Presidency, Patrick Hulme Closing Remarks 4:00 pm Joseph Rodgers