Analysis / Commentary, Next Gen CommunityFulfilling the Central and Enduring Role of U.S. Nuclear WeaponsByVincent Manzo and CSIS PONIPublished Oct 30, 2017Any decision stemming from the Nuclear Posture Review that risks derailing political support for modernization could, at the end of the day, weaken deterrence if the result is insufficient funding for the current plan.
Analysis / Commentary, Next Gen CommunityPreparedness of U.S. Forces for a Limited Nuclear ConflictBySam WilsonPublished Oct 24, 2017Given the potential for a conflict with a nuclear adversary, our ability to ensure that our general-purpose forces have the appropriate expertise and equipment to plan and operate in nuclear conditions would seem to be a critical requirement.
Analysis / Commentary, Next Gen CommunityAfter the End of Bilateral Nuclear Arms ControlByLinton BrooksPublished Oct 24, 2017The prospect of the demise of U.S.-Russian bilateral arms control is a gloomy one. But the problem will not be improved by ignoring it.
Analysis / Commentary, Next Gen CommunityFive Guys and a Brigadier General Travel to North Dakota in the Dead of WinterByMerit Schumaker and CSIS PONIPublished May 23, 2017Interacting with senior military leadership and visiting the maintainers, operators, and trainers responsible for two legs of the nuclear deterrent creates a vitally important relationship, one that can close that technical gap and ensure future civilian leaders are able to make informed decisions.
Analysis / Commentary, Next Gen CommunityThe Future of Submarine Second Strike and the Balance of StabilityByIsaac Jenkins and CSIS PONIPublished May 7, 2017SSBNs are proliferating, they are getting quieter, and methods for detecting SSBNs are improving. These three trends set the nuclear powers up for a competition that may diminish the stabilizing role SSBNs have historically played.
Analysis / CommentaryThe Evolving U.S. Nuclear NarrativeByRebecca HersmanPublished Nov 1, 2016REBECCA HERSMAN and CLARK A. MURDOCH
Analysis / ReportAn Evolving Narrative: A Report on the Role and Value of U.S. Nuclear Weapons, 1989-TodayByRebecca HersmanPublished Oct 15, 2016This study aims to create a dialogue with the nation’s nuclear personnel about the rationales for the U.S. nuclear arsenal that already exist—some of which have been stated at the highest levels of leadership—to ask what the nuclear forces actually hear, what works and what does not, and what motivates them on a daily basis.
Analysis / Commentary, Next Gen CommunityU.S.-China Nuclear Deterrence and The South China SeaByBrittney Washington and CSIS PONIPublished Jun 27, 2016With 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.
Analysis / Commentary, Next Gen CommunityEngineering and PolicyByAlex Stevenson and CSIS PONIPublished Jun 23, 2016Sensible 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 / Commentary, Next Gen CommunityWaiting for Washington: U.S. clarity and guidance are vital to the JCPOAByMinsu Crowder-Han and CSIS PONIPublished Jun 14, 2016While 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.