by William Bittner* Iran is closer than ever to acquiring nuclear weapons. The risks to the international community are obvious—an arms race with the Gulf monarchies or theft by terrorists, to name just two—but so are the costs to Iran itself, which is already crippled by economic sanctions that have contributed to domestic unrest. The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan […]
The Fall of Assad: A Cautionary Tale for Kim Jong Un
By Shawn Rostker The recent fall of Syria’s Assad regime offers a stark lesson for North Korea: relying on Russia is a gamble that Pyongyang cannot afford to take lightly. Bashar al-Assad’s downfall was, in large part, the result of Moscow’s inability to provide the decisive support needed to save its partner. While the fall […]
How Koreans View Nuclear Issues: Lessons From My Visit
By John Erath I spent last week in Korea, courtesy of the 38 North Program of the Stimson Center, in association with the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control. I was asked to participate in a workshop and discuss the prospects for U.S. policy following the 2024 Presidential election. The workshop went well, but more […]
Addressing the China Challenge: The Fallacy of Relying on a Cold War Lens for Nuclear Issues
By Sarah Kirchner-Barney The specter of the Cold War continues to loom large as nuclear saber-rattling has become commonplace from Russia, China continues its ongoing nuclear expansion, and fears of a seventh North Korean nuclear test have put nuclear weapons back in the spotlight. But why worry? The world survived a Cold War once before, […]
Heatwaves and H-Bombs: The Nuclear Triad’s Vulnerabilities to Climate Change
By Shawn Rostker Sunday, July 21, broke the record for the hottest day recorded on Earth in modern times. The following day, that record was broken again. Extreme weather events like this are occurring more frequently and with greater intensity than during any other period of recorded human existence, and the cumulative effects of climate […]
