CONFERENCE PAPERS
AP Images
January 22, 2013
"The Middle Eastern Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone (WMDFZ)- Nuclear Verification"
By Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Christian Charlier
The establishment of a WMDFZ in the Middle East is a real challenge for the international community taking into consideration the absence of favorable conditions such as the mutual states recognitions as political entities with established diplomatic relations, and stability. To start with, there is no one single model for existing Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (NWFZ). Each existing NWFZ treaty had introduced elements, including creative legal arrangements, and unique features depending on the specificities of each zone. The current treaties of the South Pacific NWFZ, the Southeast Asian NWFZ, the African NWFZ, the Latin American NWFZ, and the Central Asian NWFZ, can be studied and applied where relevant. So, too, there exist organizations responsible for the verification of these treaties (IAEA, OPCW, CTBTO). The case of the Middle East will be more complex since the treaty is envisioned to cover all weapons of mass destruction including biological and chemical as well as their delivery vehicles. A large number of political, historical, technical, and verification issues need to be factored into the Treaty. In other words, working on a WMDFZ means the necessity to deal with all WMD aspects together. Progressing the WMDFZ further means looking at a composite picture of states’ concerns and relations in the region that just counting weapons reduction alone.
July 16, 2012
"The Middle Eastern Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone (WMDFZ) – Nuclear Verification"
By Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
This publication is based on a presentation at the “Verification in the 21st Century – Technological, Political and Institutional Challenges and Opportunities”, 17 – 20 June 2012, Wilton Park, UK.
DigitalGlobe and Google Earth
17-21 July 2011
"Reassessing China’s Military Inventory of Highly Enriched Uranium"
By Hui Zhang, Senior Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
Hui Zhang presented his paper "Reassessing China’s Military Inventory of Highly Enriched Uranium," at the Institute for Nuclear Materials Management 52nd Annual Meeting, in Palm Spring, CA, 17-21 July 2011.
17-21 July 2011
"China’s Stockpile of Military Plutonium: A New Estimate"
By Hui Zhang, Senior Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
Hui Zhang presented his paper "China’s Stockpile of Military Plutonium: A New Estimate," at the Institute for Nuclear Materials Management 52nd Annual Meeting, in Palm Spring, CA, 17-21 July 2011.
AP Photo
July 2010
"China's Current Spent Fuel Management and Future Management Scenarios"
By Yun Zhou, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
China's recent nuclear energy ambitions have put it in the forefront of research and development in the nuclear industry.This paper will first discuss the status of China's current spent fuel management methods and storage capability. Second, this paper will estimate and calculate the accumulated spent fuel and required spent fuel storage up to 2040 based on three different nuclear development scenarios. Third, future spent fuel management scenarios from now to 2040 are designed and financial costs and proliferation risks are evaluated and discussed associated with each scenario. Last, policy recommendations will be provided for the future spent fuel.
June 2010
"85Kr in Industrial Krypton Gas: Origin, Identification and Dosimetry"
By Helmut W. Fischer, Bernd Hettwig and Tom Bielefeld, Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
Helmut W. Fischer, Bernd Hettwig, and Tom Bielefeld presented "85Kr in Industrial Krypton Gas: Origin, Identification and Dosimetry" at the Third European IRPA Congress in June 2010. They reported on a case of transcontinental transport of krypton gas, triggering of a radiation alarm and subsequent in situ measurement by different radiometric techniques.
July 16, 2009
"Decommissioning the North Korean Nuclear Facilities: Approaches and Costs"
By Hui Zhang, Senior Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
Hui Zhang presented his paper "Decommissioning the North Korean Nuclear Facilities: Approaches and Costs," at the Institute for Nuclear Materials Management 50th Annual Meeting, in Tucson, Arizona, 12-16 July 2009.
Penn State RS and EC
July 16, 2009
"On China’s Commercial Reprocessing Policy"
By Hui Zhang, Senior Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
Hui Zhang presented his paper "On China’s Commercial Reprocessing Policy," at the Institute for Nuclear Materials Management 50th Annual Meeting, in Tucson, Arizona, 12-16 July 2009.
April 2-5, 2009
What Leads Voters to Support the Opposition under Authoritarianism? Evidence from Survey Research in Jordan
By Michael Robbins, Former Research Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
Voters in authoritarian countries face a much different calculus than voters in democratic societies when choosing which candidate to support. Current explanations of their behavior rely on material incentives, arguing that these voters support pro-regime candidates who they believe can deliver economic resources to them or their regions. However, despite these economic incentives, some voters still choose to support the opposition. This paper examines the factors that lead some citizens to act in this way using a post-election survey in the case of Jordan. It argues that discontent, socio- economic status, and personal connections are key determinants of voters decision to vote for the opposition.
In Press
"Learning about Carbon Capture and Storage: Changing Stakeholder Perceptions With Expert Information"
Energy Procedia
By Jennie Stephens, Former Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy, Jeffrey Bielicki, Former Research Fellow, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, 2006–2009 and Gabriel Rand
This paper explores stakeholders’ perceptions of the risks and benefits of CCS technology, and how those perceptions changed with additional information provided by CCS technology experts.
