EUROPE
AP Photo
April 26, 2011
"Nuclear Inertia"
Op-Ed, Slate
By Matthew Fuhrmann, Former Associate, Project on Managing the Atom, January–August 2009; Former Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program, 2008–December 2009
"Nuclear-reactor construction is dominated by inertia. Harvesting nuclear energy is incredibly expensive at first, but much cheaper once the infrastructure is in place. Nevertheless, countries with a lot of money invested in nuclear energy have been surprisingly reluctant to give it up—even after major nuclear accidents. States that were not heavily invested, however, have often been quick to cancel their nuclear plans after accidents in other countries."
AP Photo
April 2011
"Attacking the Atom: Does Bombing Nuclear Facilities Affect Proliferation?"
Journal Article, The Journal of Strategic Studies, issue 2, volume 34
By Sarah Kreps, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2007–2008 and Matthew Fuhrmann, Former Associate, Project on Managing the Atom, January–August 2009; Former Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program, 2008–December 2009
"What does the historical record suggest about the consequences of a potential American or Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear program? Although military force delayed proliferation in some previous cases, policymakers must remember that past may not be prologue. In particular, the three indirect mechanisms we identified are unlikely to 'work' in the Iranian case."
AP Photo
April 14, 2011
"Academic Stovepipes Undermine U.S. Security"
Op-Ed, World Politics Review
By Joan Johnson-Freese and Thomas M. Nichols, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom, 2008–2011
"Missile defense represents the most severe collision of space, nuclear weapons and politics. Accustomed to technological miracles, Americans assume that technical problems can always be fixed with enough money. Engineers are not asked if missile defense is a viable solution to the horrific threat of nuclear warheads carried on missiles, and political analysts do not care about the difficulties involved in developing hardware. In the end, this disconnect could produce a situation where a U.S. president is asked to rely on a system that technical experts cannot assure him will work but that political advisers insist must be brandished."
U.S. Department of State
April 13, 2011
"Next Steps to Strengthen Nuclear Security and Prevent Nuclear Terrorism"
Presentation
By Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom
Matthew Bunn presented "Next Steps to Strengthen Nuclear Security and Prevent Nuclear Terrorism" at the Fissile Materials Working Group event in Vienna, Austria on the occasion of the 1-year anniversary of the Nuclear Security Summit.
AP Photo
December 7, 2010
"Making Nuclear Energy Suitable for More of the World’s Energy Supply: Issues and Prospects"
Presentation
By Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom
Matthew Bunn presented "Making Nuclear Energy Suitable for More of the World’s Energy Supply: Issues and Prospects" to the Energy Policy Seminar, on December 7, 2010.
AP Photo
December 4, 2010
"The European Union and Future Nuclear Talks"
Op-Ed
By Kayhan Barzegar, Former Associate, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program, 2010–2011; Former Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/international Security Program, 2007–2010
"The weakening of the EU's role as an independent and mediatory player in the nuclear talks, however, beyond economic losses, could bring negative strategic and political consequences for the EU's status in the entire Middle East, which could in turn damage the region's interests. The new economic sanctions will preclude the opportunity of investment by the EU in Iran's gas and oil sectors, thus decreasing trade and commerce between the two—a shift of policy that provoked a sharp rise in China's activities in those sectors."
AP Photo
November/December 2010
"The Iranian Quagmire: How to Move Forward. Position: Tit-for-Tat Diplomacy"
Journal Article, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, issue 6, volume 66
By Kayhan Barzegar, Former Associate, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program, 2010–2011; Former Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/international Security Program, 2007–2010
"...Iran's nuclear strategy is based on mastering the independent nuclear fuel cycle, seeking a cooperative relationship with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) according to its Safeguards Agreement, and enhancing regional and global nuclear disarmament. While Iran's progress in moving forward with the elements of this strategy brings challenges for the P5 + 1 group—namely reaching consensus on the mutual interests of all concerned parties—Iran supports continued discussions with this group to find a result acceptable to all parties in the diplomatic process."
October 15, 2010
"Managing Risks From a Nuclear Energy Revival"
Presentation
By Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom
Matthew Bunn presented "Managing Risks From a Nuclear Energy Revival" at the Critical Perspectives: Contemporary Issues in International Relations Forum at the Fletcher School on October 15, 2010.
October 11, 2010
"Deterrence in the 21st Century: U.S. Choices on the Roles of Nuclear Weapons, Conventional Capabilities, and Missile Defense"
Presentation
By Thomas M. Nichols, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom, 2008–2011
Nichols discussed the problem of tactical nuclear weapons and the future of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Central Europe and proposed that nuclear weapons should be removed from Europe and that NATO needs to consider how to achieve its eventual transition from a Cold War alliance to pan-Atlantic collective security organization.
September 2010
The Uncertain Future of Nuclear Energy
Report
By Frank N. von Hippel, Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom, Anatoli Diakov, Ming Ding, Tadahiro Katsuta, Charles McCombie, M.V. Ramana, Tatsujiro Suzuki, Susan Voss and Suyuan Yu
In the 1970s, nuclear-power boosters expected that by now nuclear power would produce perhaps 80 to 90 percent of all electrical energy globally. Today, the official high-growth projection of the Organization for Economic Co‑operation and Developments (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) estimates that nuclear power plants will generate about 20 percent of all electrical energy in 2050. Thus, nuclear power could make a significant contribution to the global electricity supply. Or it could be phased out — especially if there is another accidental or a terrorist-caused Chernobyl-scale release of radioactivity. If the spread of nuclear energy cannot be decoupled from the spread of nuclear weapons, it should be phased out.
