Part of President Obama’s ambitious arms control agenda is a fissile material cutoff treaty (FMCT) that would ban the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons purposes. In this new factsheet, Kingston Reif and Madeleine Foley examine the purpose, background, politics, and challenges of the FMCT.
Fact Sheet: 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit Results
By Duyeon Kim DATE March 26-27, 2012 in Seoul, Korea PARTICIPANTS Leaders from 53 states and 4 international organizations (total 58 head delegates): • Chair: Republic of Korea. • Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, […]
Fact Sheet: The Basics of Nuclear Weapons
Prepared by Candice DeNardi Updated by Bridget Nolan and Kingston Reif What is a Nuclear Weapon? A nuclear weapon is a device which rapidly releases nuclear energy, either through fission (as in the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki) or a combination fission and fusion (as in a thermonuclear or hydrogen bomb). How do Nuclear […]
NATO: Still Fighting the Last (Cold) War
By Lesley McNiesh At the 2012 NATO summit in Chicago, the alliance had the chance to make changes to NATO’s nuclear posture that would align it with 21st century security challenges. Instead, it chose to remain mired in Cold War thinking. At the 2010 Lisbon summit, NATO mandated a review to accomplish the key task […]
Nuclear Shields, Dull Swords
3131 Earlier this month, Global Zero’s U.S. Nuclear Policy Commission, chaired by former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General James Cartwright, issued a report reevaluating US nuclear strategy and force posture. In the two decades since the end of the Cold War, the United States has not significantly altered its approach to […]