JOURNAL ARTICLES
April-May 2013
"China, North Korea and the Spread of Nuclear Weapons"
Survival
By Ben Rhode, Senior Research Associate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Thomas Plant
Once described as ‘as close as lips and teeth’, in recent years the relationship between China and North Korea has become more strained. Beijing has conflicted motivations in its policy towards Pyongyang. The threat to Beijing’s interests if North Korean nuclear weapons or materials find their way into the hands of others outweighs the danger of a regime collapse in Pyongyang.
AP Photo
Winter 2012/13
"Nuclear Disarmament and Nonproliferation: Examining the Linkage Argument"
International Security, issue 3, volume 37
Comparative assessment of the arguments on both sides suggests that signs of commitment to nuclear disarmament by the nuclear weapon states will tend to enhance support for nonproliferation. Because of the multitude of other factors that affect state decisionmaking, however, progress on disarmament will not by itself address all of the challenges to making the nonproliferation regime effective.
NEAMS/DOE Photo
2012
"Expert Judgments about RD&D and the Future of Nuclear Energy"
Environmental Science and Technology, issue 12, volume 46
By Laura Diaz Anadon, Associate Director, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program; Director, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group; Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Valentina Bosetti, Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom, Michela Catenacci and Audrey Lee, Former Research Fellow, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, 2009–2011
Probabilistic estimates of the cost and performance of future nuclear energy systems under different scenarios of government research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) spending were obtained from 30 U.S. and 30 European nuclear technology experts. The majority expected that such RD&D would have only a modest effect on cost, but would improve performance in other areas, such as safety, waste management, and uranium resource utilization. The U.S. and E.U. experts were in relative agreement regarding how government RD&D funds should be allocated, placing particular focus on very high temperature reactors, sodium-cooled fast reactors, fuels and materials, and fuel cycle technologies.
AP Photo
December 2012–January 2013
"Striking Iran: The Debate in Israel"
Survival, issue 6, volume 54
By Chuck Freilich, Senior Fellow, International Security Program
"Although the unusual public nature and stridency of the debate struck many around the world, it is still hard for those abroad to understand how great the effect on the Israeli public has been. The Iranian nuclear programme had been the one consensual issue in an otherwise politically frenetic and deeply divided country and was dealt with, so the public believed, in a manner appropriate to the severity of the threat."
Fall 2012
"Correspondence: Debating India’s Pathway to Nuclearization"
International Security, issue 2, volume 37
By Andrew B. Kennedy, Jason Stone, Gaurav Kampani and Karthika Sasikumar, Former Stanton Nuclear Security Junior Faculty Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom, 2010–2011; Former Associate, International Security Program, 2008–2009
Gaurav Kampani, Karthika Sasikumar, and Jason Stone each respond to Andrew B. Kennedy's fall 2011 International Security article, "India's Nuclear Odyssey: Implicit Umbrellas, Diplomatic Disappointments, and the Bomb."
July 13, 2012
How US Restraint Can Keep China's Nuclear Arsenal Small
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, issue 4, volume 68
By Hui Zhang, Senior Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
China currently has far fewer nuclear weapons than the U.S., possibly the fewest of the five original nuclear weapons states. But if China feels threatened by the deployment of U.S. missile defenses, that could well change.
2012
Recommendations for Small Light Water Reactor Development in China
China Nuclear Power, issue 1, volume 5
By Yun Zhou, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
Abstract: This paper summarizes the history and features of advanced small light water reactor (ASWR), and provides recommendations and strategies on ASWR research and development in China. the ASWR can be used in remote power grid and replaces mid/small size fossil plant economically, and thus can be an important part of energy saving and emission reduction policy. the safety and economy characteristic of ASWR are able to effectively expand nuclear energy marekt in emerging countries and developing countries. therefore, ASWR should be considered as a critical part of China's nuclear technology and equipment export strategy.
Spring 2012
"Confronting Soviet Power: U.S. Policy during the Early Cold War"
International Security, issue 36, volume 4
By Paul C. Avey, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
U.S. policy during the early Cold War is better explained by balance of power logic than ideology. Not only did the United States initially seek to cooperate with the Soviet Union, shifting toward a confrontational approach only when the balance of power tilted in the Soviet Union’s favor, but it later sought to engage communist groups that promised to undermine Soviet power. Given the vast differences between U.S. and Soviet ideology, the United States’ willingness to put ideology aside in these instances suggests that relative power concerns are more important in generating and shaping confrontational foreign policies than is ideology.
AP Photo
January/ February 2012
"Nuclear Scientists as Assassination Targets"
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, issue 1, volume 68
By William H. Tobey, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Since 2007, international media have reported the violent deaths of four scientists and engineers connected with Iran’s nuclear program and an attempt on the life of a fifth. The news reports on such killings are murky, incomplete, and, in some instances, likely inaccurate...
AP Photo
January/February 2012
"Nuclear Weapons 2011: Momentum Slows, Reality Returns"
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, issue 1, volume 68
By Steven E. Miller, Director, International Security Program; Editor-in-Chief, International Security; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom
In the Doomsday Clock issue of the Bulletin, the author takes a look at five events that unfolded in 2011 and that seem certain to cast a powerful shadow in months and years to come. No new breakthroughs occurred, the author writes, adding that 2012 could be a much more difficult year.
