CHINA AND NUCLEAR ISSUES
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 Images
November 23, 2010
"Peninsula of Fear"
Op-Ed, City Journal
By William H. Tobey, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"The Yongbyon revelations have prompted intense debate within policy circles about North Korea's capabilities and intentions-for instance, about whether North Korea was able to build the new enrichment facility without foreign help and about what it intends to do with this plant and more broadly, with its nuclear program. Some hope that Pyongyang wants to use the facility as a bargaining chip and that it may scale back its program to get sanctions lifted and secure normal relations with the U.S. and other nations. But more officials take the pessimistic view that Pyongyang unveiled the new facility to persuade Washington and its allies to accept North Korea as a member of the nuclear-weapons club."
Gleitzman Center
Winter 2010-11
"Countdown to Zero Draws Heavily from Center Experts and Research"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Sasha Talcott, Former Director of Communications and Outreach
When the Academy Award-winning producer of An Inconvenient Truth, Lawrence Bender, wanted to create a new nuclear proliferation film, he turned to leading experts at the Belfer Center.
November 13-15, 2010
"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 XVIII Edoardo Amaldi Conference on “International Security and the Role of Scientific Academies” Rome, Italy in November 2010.
Fall 2010
"Correspondence: Debating China's Naval Nationalism"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 2, volume 35
By Michael A. Glosny, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2006-2007, Phillip C. Saunders and Robert Ross
Michael Glosny and Phillip Saunders respond to Robert Ross's Fall 2009 International Security article, "China's Naval Nationalism: Sources, Prospects, and the U.S. Response."
AP Photo
Fall 2010
"China's Search for Assured Retaliation: The Evolution of Chinese Nuclear Strategy and Force Structure"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 2, volume 35
By M. Taylor Fravel and Dr. Evan Medeiros
China exploded its first nuclear weapon in 1964. Yet for several decades, it did not increase the size of its arsenal, leaving itself vulnerable to a potential nuclear first strike by the United States or the Soviet Union. One explanation for this decision is that Chinese leaders viewed nuclear weapons primarily as a tool of deterrence. Another is that internal organizational and political factors constrained the development of a robust nuclear strategy. Today, although China has the capability to increase the size of its nuclear arsenal, its leadership has not changed China's nuclear policy, which remains the pursuit of a credible second-strike capability.
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.
August 9, 2010
Graham Allison Calls for Citizen Follow-up to "Countdown to Zero"
Memorandum, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
The Belfer Center is honored to have a number of our scholars and alumni prominently featured in the film Countdown to Zero. It is a testament to our long-standing commitment to providing leadership in advancing policy-relevant knowledge about the threat of nuclear terrorism and proliferation. Translating words into deeds, however, will require private citizens to take action. For her work in pushing nations around the world to sign a treaty banning land mines, Jody Williams won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997....Someone asked one of my colleagues here at the Center, what would a nuclear Jody Williams do? Colleagues here have developed a list.
AP Photo
July 2010
"China's Current Spent Fuel Management and Future Management Scenarios"
Conference Paper
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.
AP Photo
Forthcoming July 2010
"The Security Implications of China's Nuclear Energy Expansion"
Journal Article, Nonproliferation Review
By Yun Zhou, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
This article examines and evaluates security measures at Chinese civilian nuclear power plants and suggests ways to improve them. It also reviews current export control policies and systems, identifies likely challenges to the expanding nuclear sector, and proposes possible solutions.
