A sampling of what's available...
Analysis
Analysis
America's nuclear future: Does the public have a fair say in it?
Did the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future provide sufficient opportunities for public engagement? Three experts on participatory processes say the Commission fell short.
A hinge moment for the BWC?
The future of biological weapons control may depend on six countries -- China, Cuba, India, Iran, Pakistan, and Russia -- that have chosen to block progress on promising ways to counter biothreats internationally.
The defensive nature of China's "underground great wall"
Much evidence shows that China bases a portion of its small nuclear arsenal in a vast tunnel network to shield it from a first strike. A recent study contending the tunnels hide thousands of nuclear weapons is based on simplistic reasoning and rumor.
Nuclear scientists as assassination targets
It is unclear who is responsible for the targeted killings of Iranian nuclear scientists and engineers, but the attacks raise unique policy questions about motives, effectiveness, repercussions, and legal and moral standards.
Nuclear nomads: A look at the subcontracted heroes
The Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan is a perfect example of how complex social and physiological realities are hidden from the world.
North Korea from 30,000 feet
Looking at leadership change and possible future trajectories of North Korea's nuclear program.
Restructuring defense R&D
How to spur innovation and reduce waste.
How the reset was upset
Russia has several legitimate concerns with NATO missile defense -- dismissing them is short-sighted and dangerous.
The Black Sea: Center of the nuclear black market
The Black Sea region is the center of the world's nuclear black market, and criminal organizations have become involved in nuclear trafficking. International coordination and law enforcement must be improved to prevent these organizations from working with terrorist groups.
The legacy of Reykjavik and the future of nuclear disarmament
Twenty-five years ago in Reykjavik, Iceland, US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev walked to the threshold of a nuclear-free world -- and then turned back. The authors compare and contrast the geopolitical and diplomatic contexts of 1986 with today.
International humanitarian law and nuclear weapons: Irreconcilable differences
In 1996, the International Court of Justice issued an opinion that the use of nuclear weapons is "scarcely reconcilable" with international humanitarian law. And when the rules of war are applied, it becomes clear that these weapons cannot comply with international law.
Politics, bureaucracy, and the proliferation of nuclear knowledge
In an excerpt from her book, Our Own Worst Enemy? Institutional Interests and the Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Expertise, an American University professor explains how the US strategy of discouraging proliferation through job creation for former Soviet weapons scientists failed.
Fukushima and the inevitability of accidents
Governments regulate risky industrial systems such as nuclear power plants in hopes of making them less risky. Even so, some complex warning systems with catastrophic potential are just too dangerous to exist, because they cannot be made safe.
Chain reaction: How the media has misread the IAEA's report on Iran
Pundits and politicians who use the latest IAEA report to attack the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate are distorting the information, at best -- and, at worst, are playing politics with national security.
Seyed Hossein Mousavian: The West is pushing Iran in the wrong direction
In an exclusive interview, a former key adviser to top Iranian leaders says negotiation can ease the West’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program – but only if Washington and Tehran also talk directly about the other issues that divide them.
Fatwas for fission: Assessing the terrorist threat to Pakistan's nuclear assets
Pakistan's nuclear assets may be tempting targets for terrorists. Experts are split, however, on the actual threat posed. The author writes that the real threat assessment is yet to be made -- one that goes beyond merely considering assumed terrorist capability and putative vulnerabilities.
Who's a weapons scientist?
A Russian expert reportedly provided the Iranian nuclear program with important technical know-how. The US has tried hard to stop knowledge proliferation but had difficulty identifying scientists with critical weapons skills.
Coming not so soon to a theater near you: Laser weapons for missile defense
The Airborne Laser was to be a dream antimissile weapon. What it became was a classic defense boondoggle and a frightening example of how committed military officials, scientists, and defense contractors can persuade Congress to keep a defense program alive against, seemingly, all reason.