Non-Proliferation
Atomic bomb explosion in the Marshall Islands. National Archives.
RECENT ANALYSIS
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Jul 2, 2009
Backgrounder on Obama-Medvedev July 2009 Moscow Summit
From July 6 to 8, 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev will meet in Moscow for their first full summit. High on their agenda is the impending expiration of the landmark 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and the ongoing negotiations to replace it with a new strategic arms reduction agreement. -
Jun 24, 2009
House Armed Services Committee Action on the FY 2010 Defense Authorization Bill (H.R. 2647)
The House Armed Services Committee completed its markup of the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Authorization bill (HR 2647) on June 17, 2009. The marked-up bill recommends an overall FY 2010 authorization level of $680.5 billion, which includes $130 billion for ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and $550.5 billion for the Pentagon and nuclear weapons activities. -
Jun 23, 2009
U.S. Foreign Policy toward Iran in the Obama Era
Though burdened with political constraints on its freedom of action, the Obama administration already has made overtures to Iran that may appear merely symbolic but have historically proven successful at breaking the ice in preparation for larger diplomatic initiatives. In this new policy brief, Travis Sharp argues that there are reasons to be guardedly optimistic about the future of U.S.-Iranian bilateral relations. - See more articles »
CENTER EXPERT
Leonor Tomero
Director for Nuclear Non-Proliferation
202-546-0795 ext.2104
ltomero AT armscontrolcenter DOT org
START Resource Center
Click here to read "Strengthening U.S. Security Through Non-Proliferation and Arms Control: Recommendations for the Obama Administration"
Project on Reorganizing for Arms Control and Nonproliferation
Since entering into force in 1970, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the NPT, has remained the cornerstone of the international nonproliferation regime. In creating a system of mutual responsibilities and an international taboo against the use or threat to use nuclear weapons, the NPT has proven largely successful in stemming proliferation.
But the nonproliferation regime faces new challenges: insufficient protections against the theft or sale of various nuclear materials in states of the former Soviet Union; nuclear black market activity such as the network operated by A.Q. Khan out of Pakistan; threats by North Korea to share nuclear technology with states or non-state actors hostile to the U.S.; and, most recently, violations of IAEA nuclear safeguard standards by Iran, a signatory of the NPT which is pursuing technology for producing nuclear materials as part of a possible quest for a nuclear bomb.
The threat of nuclear terrorism is producing additional challenges to the NPT regime, particularly in the areas of securing and safeguarding nuclear weapons material, as is a pending agreement between the U.S. and India to share peaceful nuclear technology. The U.S.-India deal challenges the legitimacy of the NPT because it would not require India to join the NPT or to undertake any of the disarmament commitments that the P-5 agreed to.
Many experts agree that some type of nonproliferation regime reform is necessary, particularly since certain states have interpreted the NPT as allowing them to acquire nuclear technologies that take them to the brink of acquiring an actual nuclear weapon without explicitly violating the treaty, sometimes referred to as a "breakout capability." Withdrawing from the NPT also carries no penalty, save possible ad hoc action taken by the U.N. Security Council.
Unless nuclear proliferation challenges are effectively addressed and until nuclear weapon states achieve further progress on their disarmament commitments, the future strength of the NPT regime remains in question.
FY 2010 BUDGET ANALYSIS
Jun 24, 2009 House Armed Services Committee Action on the FY 2010 Defense Authorization Bill (H.R. 2647)
Jun 2, 2009 Obama Nuclear Nonproliferation Budget Disappointing
May 15, 2009 President Obama’s First Budget Shortchanges Nunn-Lugar
ARTICLES & FACT SHEETS
Jul 2, 2009 Backgrounder on Obama-Medvedev July 2009 Moscow Summit
Jun 23, 2009 Will the Senate Support New Nuclear Arms Reductions?
Jun 22, 2009 Factsheet on the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty
Apr 16, 2009 A Strategy for Achieving Senate Approval of the CTBT
Apr 13, 2009 START Follow-On Treaty and Further Nuclear Reductions: Where Are We?
Mar 23, 2009 Corral That Bomb Testing (C.T.B.T.): Politics, Messaging, Verification, Cheaters
Mar 20, 2009 The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership: Proliferation Concerns and Implications
Sep 19, 2008 U.S.-Indian Nuclear Cooperation Agreement: A Bad Deal
Sep 2, 2008 Reprocessing: A Rapid Response Factsheet
Aug 19, 2008 The Future of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP): Next Steps
Aug 15, 2008 The Future of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP): Domestic Stakeholders
Aug 4, 2008 The Future of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP): The International Partners
Jul 3, 2008 Governmental Reorganization to Strengthen Arms Control and Nonproliferation
Apr 30, 2008 Nuclear Fuel Recycling: More Trouble Than It's Worth
Apr 15, 2008 Potential U.S. Ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) Fact Sheet
Apr 15, 2008 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) Fact Sheet
Mar 19, 2008 10 Reasons to Support a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
ADDITIONAL READING
- Congressional Research Service, "Managing the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Policy Implications of Expanding Global Access to Nuclear Power," updated March 7, 2008.
- Congressional Research Service, "India-U.S. Relations," updated August 12, 2008.
- Congressional Research Service, "Nonproliferation and Threat Reduction Assistance: U.S. Programs in the Former Soviet Union," updated January 3, 2008.
- Congressional Research Service, "Arms Control and Nonproliferation: A Catalog of Treaties and Agreements," updated April 9, 2008.