Debra Decker
Associate, International Security Program
Contact:
Telephone: 703-377-8684
Email: debra_decker@ksg.harvard.edu
Experience
Debra Decker has a B.A. in international relations and economics from American University’s School of International Service, an MBA in finance from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and an MPA from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where she focused on international security and development policy and was distinguished as a Littauer Fellow. Early in her career, she worked on arms control and foreign aid for U.S. State Department–related agencies before switching to private industry and working as a corporate strategic planner. More recently, she has been a national award-winning journalist, writing editorials and columns for The Dallas Morning News and providing commentary for National Public Radio in North Texas.
Ms. Decker has been reviewing the recent literature on nuclear proliferation and proposals for reform and assessing interests most impacted by those proposals. Her goal is to determine which proposals would have the most effect on the nuclear future, in terms of providing opportunities while containing threats, and which could be most readily accepted. This will lead to recommendations on the next steps that the United States and the international community should take in order to have a more secure nuclear future. She is currently pursuing this research as a non-resident associate, based in Washington, D.C., where she consults on strategic planning for Booz Allen Hamilton.
Ms. Decker is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, and the World Affairs Council.
January 22, 2008
"Nuclear Fuel Supply Concept Developed by Debra Decker and Erwann Michel-Kerjan is Featured in the Global Risks 2008 Report of the World Economic Forum"
Highlight
By Debra Decker, Associate, International Security Program and Erwann O. Michel-Kerjan
"A truly innovative concept has been proposed by a joint team from the Wharton Business School and Harvard's Kennedy School: "insure to assure." The proposed solution — complementary to the efforts of the IAEA and others — would create a partnership between financial industries and governments to create the world's first international nuclear fuel insurance fund."
January 2008
"The Economics of Nuclear Energy Markets and the Future of International Security"
Working Paper
By Erwann O. Michel-Kerjan and Debra Decker, Associate, International Security Program
This paper discusses the evolution of nuclear energy markets and key drivers of the growing "nuclear renaissance." We focus on uranium, the largest part of the nuclear fuel markets, and analyze market demand, supply, and prices since the 1970s. We review the forces impacting this market—historically and prospectively—and note proliferation concerns surrounding nuclear energy: i.e. the same facilities that enrich uranium for electricity generation can also enrich it further for nuclear weapons.
November 15, 2007
"Statement on U.S. Capabilities in Nuclear Forensics and Attribution in the Aftermath of a Nuclear or Radiological Attack"
Testimony
By Debra Decker, Associate, International Security Program
"Even if the U.S. had a foolproof attribution capability, the capability would prove of limited value unless it was decisively framed within a larger policy context. Gaps do exist on the hard science side and many of them have been enumerated by others, however, the policy gap is also large and must be filled."
September 4, 2007
"The Other Energy Crisis"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Strategy + Business
By Debra Decker, Associate, International Security Program and Erwann O. Michel-Kerjan
As nuclear energy becomes a viable alternative to carbon-based fuels, security is a vital concern. Here’s how private markets might be able to help.
March 2007
"A New Energy Paradigm: Ensuring Nuclear Fuel Supply and Nonproliferation through International Collaboration with Insurance and Financial Markets"
Discussion Paper
By Debra Decker, Associate, International Security Program and Erwann O. Michel-Kerjan
"Seeking ways to dissuade more states from contemplating launching their own uranium enrichment programs...the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is considering different mechanisms to assure these states that they can obtain fuel supplies from the market without political interference."
December 22, 2006
"Ensuring Global Uranium Supplies"
Op-Ed, The International Herald Tribune
By Debra Decker, Associate, International Security Program and Erwann O. Michel-Kerjan
"...a new look at global atomic energy supplies is sorely needed."
December 2006
"Who Pays When the Bomb Goes Off?"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Foreign Policy
By Debra Decker, Associate, International Security Program
