March 15, 2023

Designating North Korean Nuclear Weapons as Proliferation Risks: A Proposal for Forestalling Major Power Conflicts in the Event of North Korea's Internal Collapse

A potential North Korean internal collapse would pose enormous challenges to South Korea, to include the risk of catalyzing a major U.S.-China crisis. Creative diplomacy by Seoul, however, could lay the groundwork for all three states to designate North Korea's nuclear weapons as "proliferation risks" within a notional future crisis, providing common ground for Washington and Beijing--who have worked together on key nonproliferation initiatives in the past--to tacitly cooperate on (or at least de-conflict) efforts to address the security threats posed by Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal within a dynamic internal conflict environment.

Feb. 16, 2023

China's Theater-Range, Dual-Capable Delivery Systems: Integrated Deterrence and Risk Reduction Approaches to Counter a Growing Threat

China has engaged in a dramatic buildup of its nuclear forces over the past decade. While much of the attention on China’s new nuclear arsenal has focused on its development and expansion of its strategic nuclear triad, this growth has also included significant numbers of theater-range, dual-capable delivery systems. These forces are not capable of reaching the U.S. mainland but can range U.S. and allied forces and bases across strategically significant swathes of the Indo-Pacific.

Dec. 23, 2022

The PLA’s Strategic Support Force and AI Innovation

The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Strategic Support Force (SSF) is has a number of advantages that will allow it to help China achieve its aim of becoming a global leader in AI, including an environment that promotes innovation, its explicit charge for innovation, and leadership's support for “intelligentization”, but also notable weaknesses, including attracting and retaining a high-quality high-tech workforce, China’s inability to fabricate advanced semiconductor chips domestically, and the PLA’s limited combat experience and the consequent dearth of associated “ground truth” data. The SSF will be a significant player in the PLA’s adoption of AI, but the authors do not see it as playing a central role in the PLA’s overall AI innovation and development.

Sept. 16, 2022

North Korean Nuclear Command and Control: Alternatives and Implications

This study examines alternative approaches North Korea could take for command and control of its nuclear forces (NC2) as it makes critical choices on the type of nuclear strategy and posture it wishes to adopt. The report helps fill an important analytical gap in current assessments of North Korea, examines implications of North Korea’s choices for U.S. and South Korean deterrence strategies and defense planning, and helps shed light on the most recent announcements made by North Korea concerning its nuclear forces.

Aug. 30, 2022

Controlling Chemical Weapons in the New International Order

Mr. John Caves, CSWMD Distinguished Fellow, and Dr. Seth Carus, NDU Emeritus Distinguished Professor of National Security Policy examine the breakdown in consensus decision-making at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and place this development in the context of Russia, China, and Iran’s larger challenge to a rules-based international order. The article further considers how this dynamic may play out in the OPCW in the coming years and discusses how the United States can continue to use the Chemical Weapons Convention and OPCW to defend the international norm against chemical weapons while better protecting itself and its allies and partners from a greater chemical weapons threat.

March 14, 2022

Allied Assurance and Integrated Deterrence in the Indo-Pacific

While U.S. extended deterrence capabilities within the Indo-Pacific remain robust for the purposes of deterring regional nuclear-armed adversaries, the article written by CSWMD's Dr. Justin Anderson recommends Washington devote additional time and attention to the assurance of key regional allies increasingly concerned about the rising strength of China -- and the long-term reliability of the United States. Better communicating the enduring importance of U.S. nuclear security commitments represents a key step toward convincing allies to bolster their diplomatic and defense cooperation with Washington as part of broader efforts to develop truly integrated deterrence strategies in the Indo-Pacific.

Oct. 20, 2021

Future Directions for Great Power Nuclear Arms Control: Policy Options and National Security Implications

With New START expiring in 2026, this Occasional Paper by 2020 National Defense University-U.S. Strategic Command Scholar Lt T. Justin Bronder, USAF, provides an assessment of several possible nuclear arms control/risk reduction approaches for the United States to consider. The author evaluates each approach for its possible impact on U.S.-Russia strategic stability, extended deterrence, budget costs, and other key factors, and recommends that in the near-term the United States engage other major nuclear powers in talks on new risk reduction and confidence-building measures.

Sept. 16, 2021

A Weapon of Mass Destruction Strategy for the 21st Century

In a recent article in War on the Rocks, CSWMD Expert Consultant, Dr. Seth Carus, and colleagues explore how the U.S. government should, through the National Security Council, formulate a unified strategy that addresses the changing character of, and challenges posed by, WMD. That strategy should align current and future national security capabilities in order to prevent the proliferation of such weapons and discourage adversaries from using them to harm the United States, allied nations, and broader American national security interests.

Aug. 3, 2021

Spotlight Webinar: Red Teaming the Post-COVID-19 Biological Weapon Threat Landscape

Join us on August 26 for a CSWMD Spotlight Webinar on “Red Teaming the Post-COVID-19 Biological Weapons Threat Landscape” with Gary Ackerman and Ted Plasse.

July 22, 2021

Spotlight Webinar: Negotiating Next Steps on Arms Control with Putin’s Russia

On 29 July, CSWMD hosted a Spotlight Webinar discussion on Negotiating Next Steps on Arms Control with Putin’s Russia with Deputy Director, Center for Global Security Research (CGSR), Michael Albertson.

June 28, 2021

Toward Nuclear and WMD Fluency in Professional Military Education

This article is one of the first products of CSWMD’s first WMD Educators Forum, which provided a venue for dialog and served as an accelerator for teaching methods and learning outcomes for WMD across the DoD. The article draws on recent experience in creating benchmarks for education on nuclear capabilities and concepts, and suggests how this can be done for other critical aspects of the WMD challenge.

June 24, 2021

Arms Control in Today’s (Dis)Information Environment Part III

Dr. Jaclyn Kerr's article is the final installment in a series of papers by Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) Fellows examining Arms Control in Today’s (Dis)information Environment. The goal of the series is to contribute to a discussion about how disinformation could play a role in future arms control treaties and agreements.

June 23, 2021

Cyber Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction

For two decades, U.S. policymakers, military leaders, and analysts have drawn connections between cyber threats and WMD that demand attention from experts who work in both fields. While recognizing there are a variety of definitions for WMD in use today, the WMD Center does not believe classifying cyber threats as WMD is warranted or advantageous for the United States at this time.

June 7, 2021

The Origin of Covid-19 and Preventing The Next Pandemic

In a recent article in War on the Rocks, Ms. Amanda Moodie and Dr. Nicholas Evans explore how U.S. policy priorities should focus on both identifying and preventing the spread of zoonotic pathogens and bolstering safety and security in high-containment laboratories.

May 25, 2021

Arms Control in Today’s (Dis)Information Environment Part II

Dr. Justin Anderson's recent article is the second in a series of papers by Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) Fellows examining Arms Control in Today’s (Dis)information Environment. The goal of the series is to contribute to a discussion about how disinformation could play a role in future arms control treaties and agreements.

May 11, 2021

(Dis)trust and verify?: Arms Control in Today’s (Dis)Information Environment Part I

Ms. Sarah Jacobs Gamberini's recent article for Inkstick Media examines arms control and disinformation. This is the first article in series of papers by Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) Fellows on Arms Control in Today’s (Dis)information Environment, the goal of which is to contribute to a discussion about how disinformation could play a role in future arms control treaties and agreements.

May 6, 2021

Spotlight Webinar: The Future of WMD

Join us on May 20 for a CSWMD Spotlight Webinar discussion on the future of WMD with John Caves and Seth Carus.

April 7, 2021

A Year Of Working Intentionally

In the second article in Inkstick's series on The Future of National Security Work, CSWMD's Sarah Jacobs Gamberini pens a personal essay on the unexpected benefits of pandemic telework as a working mom in the defense world.

April 7, 2021

Spotlight Webinar: Nuclear Terrorism

On 29 April, CSWMD hosted a virtual Spotlight featuring Dallas Boyd (National Nuclear Security Agency Office of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation), Regina Galer (National Defense University), and Michael Kaiser (Department of Homeland Security Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office).

April 5, 2021

Book Review: China’s Crisis of Success

In the latest from the Air University Press Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, Mr. Paul David-Albert reviews William Overholt’s book, "China’s Crisis of Success" (2018). According to David-Albert, Overholt’s research proves useful as a road map of China’s rapid economic development from 1979–2010, the transitions China’s economy must undergo to continue growing, and the political challenges Pres. Xi Jinping faces going forward.

March 18, 2021

Quantum Sensing's Potential Impacts on Strategic Deterrence and Modern Warfare

Sarah Jacobs Gamberini and Lawrence Rubin recently wrote an article in the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Orbis journal of world affairs researching how quantum sensing could impact WMD, deterrence, and modern warfare.

March 11, 2021

Want to Grow the Economy? Try Fermenting It Instead

U.S. industry’s distribution system and supply chains were vulnerable before COVID, but pandemic-related disruptions to supply chains fully exposed this already alarming problem. U.S. manufacturers have relied too heavily on foreign materials for production, and the steady off-shoring of critical industries over a course of decades has reduced direct control of vital defense-related manufacturing should it be needed.

March 10, 2021

Three’s Company? Prioritizing Trilateral Deterrence Against North Korea

Dr. Shane Smith and Brad Glosserman, Tama University, recently wrote a piece for War on the Rocks arguing that the United States should prioritize and operationalize a trilateral U.S.-Japan-South Korea approach to deterring North Korea. Their article offers concrete steps toward building a trilateral deterrence partnership.

March 3, 2021

Spotlight Webinar: COVID-19 Insights for Nuclear and Radiological Preparedness

On 18 March, the NDU Center for the Study of WMD hosted a virtual Spotlight featuring Dr. Julie Bentz.

Feb. 25, 2021

Deterring, Countering, and Defeating Conventional-Nuclear Integration

Dr. Justin Anderson and Lt Col James R. McCue, USAF, propose a three-part framework using the Department of Defense’s Deterrence Operations – Joint Operating Concept (deny benefits, impose costs, and encourage restraint) to bolster US and allied deterrence postures in Europe and the Asia-Pacific.

Feb. 12, 2021

Biodefense and the return to great-power competition

Dr. Gerald Epstein's latest article in The Nonproliferation Review explores the increased likelihood of the development and potential use of biological weapons by Russia and China. This paper is part of a special issue on chemical and biological warfare that is being published in memory of Raymond A. Zilinskas.

Feb. 3, 2021

Special Edition Spotlight Webinar: CSWMD Perspectives for the New Administration

On February 24, the NDU Center for the Study of WMD presented a Special Edition Spotlight event showcasing new and relevant policy research by its staff. This two-hour online session featured two panels: “Present and Pressing WMD Challenges” and “Strategic Deterrence and Regional Security”.

Feb. 1, 2021

The Future of Weapons of Mass Destruction: An Update

In an update to their 2014 paper on the future of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), John P. Caves, Jr., and W. Seth Carus assess and offer policy considerations on the significant geopolitical and technological developments shaping the future of WMD since 2014.

Jan. 27, 2021

China’s Hypersonic Weapons

Bernstein and Hancock identify potential strategic and operational issues that will need to be addressed as China's hypersonic capabilities mature.

Dec. 9, 2020

The biosecurity benefits of genetic engineering attribution

In a recent volume of Nature Communications, Dr. Gerald Epstein and colleagues examine the biosecurity benefits of genetic engineering attribution. This paper is a policy companion piece to a technical paper, published in the same issue, announcing new results in using machine learning to recognize the source of a genetically engineered DNA.

Dec. 8, 2020

CWMD Graduate Fellowship Program Application Season: OPEN NOW!

The 2021 CWMD Graduate Fellowship Program application is open! Please download the application here. The deadline to submit is 22 March 2021 at 11:59 p.m. If you have any questions, please email CWMDFellowship@ndu.edu.  

Dec. 1, 2020

The rise of the futurists: The perils of predicting with futurethink

In this paper, Dr. Alexander H. Montgomery and Dr. Amy J. Nelson explore probabilistic and possibilistic approaches to uncertainty related to AI, outline their potential advantages and disadvantages, and identify common biases that hinder good prediction.

Nov. 19, 2020

Social Media Weaponization: The Biohazard of Russian Disinformation Campaigns

In the latest edition of Joint Force Quarterly, Ms. Sarah Jacobs Gamberini describes the methods and goals of Russia’s influence operations, assesses the implications for targeting matters of public health, and provides whole-of-society recommendations for countering its influence.

Nov. 10, 2020

Security Implications of Emerging Biotechnologies

June 2016 — On April 26th, 2016, the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction (CSWMD) at National Defense University held a workshop to explore “Security Implications of Emerging Biotechnologies.” Participants from government, NGOs and academia discussed opportunities and challenges of a new era of biotechnology.

Nov. 4, 2020

Strategic Assessment 2020: Into a New Era of Great Power Competition

The complete "Strategic Assessment 2020: Into a New Era of Great Power Competition" includes selections from researchers in the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) and the WMD Center. To read the work of Paul Bernstein, Justin Anderson, Diane DiEuliis, Gerald Epstein, and Amanda Moodie, navigate to pages 105 and 169 or view our publications page.

Oct. 29, 2020

Program for Emerging Leaders (PEL) Application Season: OPEN NOW!

The 2021 PEL Application is open! Please download the application here. The deadline to submit is 12 February 2021 at 11:59 p.m. If you have any questions, please email PEL@ndu.edu.

Strategic Assessment 2020: Into a New Era of Great Power Competition Oct. 26, 2020

Weapons of Mass Destruction, Strategic Deterrence, and Great Power Competition

Mr. Paul Bernstein and others examine the role of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons in great power competition in the 2020 Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) Strategic Assessment.

Strategic Assessment 2020: Into a New Era of Great Power Competition Oct. 26, 2020

Contemporary Great Power Technological Competitive Factors in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

In the latest Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) Strategic Assessment, Dr. T.X. Hammes and Dr. Diane DiEuliis explore how the convergence of new technologies is creating a fourth industrial revolution that will transform almost every aspect of 21st-century life.

Fit for Purpose? The U.S. Strategic Posture in 2030 and Beyond Oct. 15, 2020

Toward an Integrated Strategic Deterrent

Mr. Paul Bernstein's article for the Center for Global Security Research Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory explores the need for greater integration across the strategic forces toolkit as a means to strengthen deterrence and defense, the opportunities that exist to advance this goal, and obstacles that must be overcome to ensure progress

Fit for Purpose? The U.S. Strategic Posture in 2030 and Beyond Oct. 15, 2020

The Tripolar Strategic Balance in 2030

Ambassador Linton F. Brooks explores the trilateral strategic relationship among the United States, the Russian Federation, and the People’s Republic of China to give some plausible outlines of that relationship in 2030, the variables on which it will depend and its implications for U.S. nuclear policy.

Sept. 22, 2020

Spotlight Webinar: How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict

On 8 October, 2020, CSWMD hosted a virtual session featuring Nina Jankowicz. She shared lessons learned from her work on the impacts of disinformation and what is at stake if we do not act.

Sept. 17, 2020

Vice Chairman Discusses Weapons of Mass Destruction at Symposium

On 17 September, 2020 from 0800-0900 EST, General John E. Hyten, USAF, Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed a number of strategic security issues related to nuclear weapons, WMD, and advanced technology during CSWMD's virtual Annual Symposium. The session was moderated by Paul Bernstein, Distinguished Policy Fellow, CSWMD.

Sept. 4, 2020

Book Review: Terror and Technology from Dynamite to Drones

T.X. Hammes reviews Power to the People: How Open Technological Innovation is Arming Tomorrow's Terrorists by Audrey Kurth Cronin at War on the Rocks.

Sept. 4, 2020

Spotlight Webinar: Situational Awareness Technology & Crisis Decisionmaking

On 10 September, 2020, CSWMD hosted a virtual panel featuring research from a two-year study examining the implications of emerging situational awareness technologies for managing crises between nuclear-armed adversaries.

July 29, 2020

Inevitable bedfellows? Cooperation on military technology for the development of UAVs and cruise missiles in the Asia-Pacific

Will states in the Asia-Pacific develop real capabilities to deter Chinese aggression? In this discussion paper – published as part of the Missile Dialogue Initiative research programme – Dr Amy J. Nelson and Dr T. X. Hammes examine the increased likelihood that UAV and cruise-missile technologies will proliferate throughout the Asia-Pacific.

July 10, 2020

Innovation and Its Discontents: National Models of Military Innovation and the Dual-Use Conundrum

Dr. Amy J. Nelson's Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) Report explores variations in national models of innovation, as well as the pathways or levers those models afford in controlling innovation’s end product with a focus on dual-use technologies. The report uses case studies of both U.S. and German investment in artificial intelligence and additive manufacturing to highlight national approaches to innovation.

June 24, 2020

The Health-Security Nexus: Reassessing Priorities after COVID-19

While Covid-19 has spurred debate about the need to elevate public health as a security concern, the securitisation of health presents both opportunities and trade-offs that need to be considered if we are to reallocate military spending to prepare for the next pandemic. Mr. Nima Gerami and Ms. Amanda Moodie address these issues in their latest for The Oxford University Politics Blog.

June 15, 2020

Aligning the nuclear and conventional elements of NATO’s deterrence

In the latest NATO Defense College publication, Mr. Harrison Menke considers how a more cohesive and comprehensive NATO deterrence posture can help influence Russian leaders against the use of nuclear weapons.

June 11, 2020

2020 Symposium Virtual Address: Lt Gen Michael Minihan

Please join us for three keynotes on July 7, 2020 as part of the Center for the Study of WMD's virtual Annual Symposium.

June 11, 2020

2020 Symposium Virtual Address: DTRA Director Vayl Oxford

Please join us for three keynotes on July 7, 2020 as part of the Center for the Study of WMD's virtual Annual Symposium.

June 11, 2020

2020 Symposium Virtual Keynote: General John E. Hyten

Please join us for a keynote on 17 September, 2020 as part of the Center for the Study of WMD's virtual Annual Symposium.

May 19, 2020

Renewing US Extended Deterrence Commitments Against North Korea

In his recent article in 38 North, Dr. Shane Smith explores strengthening the U.S. deterrence posture toward North Korea.

May 7, 2020

Embrace Experimentation in Biosecurity Governance

Dr. Gerald Epstein and colleagues examine the need to rethink biosecurity governance to address changing technical, social, and political environments.

May 7, 2020

Governing a Pandemic

In their article in Inkstick, Ms. Sarah Jacobs Gamberini and Ms. Amanda Moodie examine China's authoritarian approach to COVID-19 in the context of great power competition.

May 4, 2020

2020 Annual Symposium: Virtual Sessions

Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction’s annual symposium, “WMD 2020: Great Power Competition and Technology Challenges," will take place on 17-18 June 2020 in a webinar format. Join us on 7 July 2020 for 3 keynote sessions.

April 27, 2020

Beyond 1918: Bringing Pandemic Response into the Present, and Future

April 27, 2020 — The current pandemic gives us an opportunity to envision new tools, methods, and response policies that leverage emerging technologies, which, if adopted and prudently employed, would enable capability to far better predict, prepare, if not prevent the “next” biosecurity war, and not merely repeat the errors of the “last”. 

April 13, 2020

Ready or Not: Regaining Military Readiness during COVID19

In the latest Institute for National Strategic Studies "Strategic Insight," Dr. Diane DiEuliis and Dr. Laura Junor examine what the Department of Defense needs to maintain force readiness during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Force readiness and management will be improved by rapidly deploying a point of care serological test to all in the U.S. military.

April 6, 2020

The Virus Of Disinformation: Echoes Of Past Bioweapons Accusations In Today’s Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories

In their latest for War on the Rocks, Ms. Sarah Jacobs Gamberini and Ms. Amanda Moodie examine the similarities between current Covid-19 related disinformation campaigns and biological influence operations conducted during the Cold War.

April 2, 2020

Modernizing biotechnology for the fight against COVID-19 and the future of pandemic response

Alexander Titus, Michelle Rozo, and Diane DiEuliis provide some perspective on the importance of using advanced biotechnology capabilities during the global pandemic.

March 25, 2020

Infodemic

In their article in Inkstick, Dr. Justin Anderson and Ms. Sarah Jacobs Gamberini examine the daunting challenge of attempting to halt the spread of misinformation (erroneous information) and disinformation (deliberately false information) about the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Jan. 22, 2020

Redefining Neuroweapons: Emerging Capabilities in Neuroscience and Neurotechnology

As global conflicts assume increasingly asymmetric and “gray zone” forms, the ability to employ current and newly developing techniques and tools of neurocognitive science to manipulate human thought and behavior must be viewed as a present and increasing challenge. DeFranco, DiEuliis, and Giordano examine how developments in neuroscience and technology (neuroS/T) make the brain sciences of growing value for operational use in warfare, intelligence, and national security…

Dec. 13, 2019

Russia's Hypersonic Weapons

While Russian hypersonic weapons could pose problems for U.S. and NATO defense planning, their introduction in the near-term is not likely to fundamentally alter the existing balance of power or the prospects for strategic stability.

Dec. 5, 2019

Robert Mikulak Receives OPCW-The Hague Award

The OPCW-The Hague Award recognizes individuals and institutions that have made an outstanding contribution towards the goal of a world permanently free of chemical weapons.

Dec. 4, 2019

Fentanyl as a Chemical Weapon

John Caves provides some perspective on the question of whether fentanyl should be considered a chemical weapon, and offers some recommendations to mitigate the risk that fentanyl compounds could be weaponized in the future.

Dec. 4, 2019

CWMD Graduate Fellowship Application NOW OPEN

The special application season for the CWMD Graduate Fellowship is now open.

Sept. 19, 2019

Getting Innovation Right

This monograph is a collection of short papers from a Lawrence Livermore workshop on innovation and long-term competition.

Aug. 23, 2019

Linton Brooks awarded John S. Foster Medal

CSWMD would like to congratulate our expert consultant AMB Linton Brooks, who was recently awarded the John S. Foster Medal for contributions to nuclear security.

Aug. 22, 2019

Spotlight Seminar: The End of Strategic Stability? Nuclear Weapons and the Challenge of Regional Rivalries

On September 12 2019, Lawrence Rubin, Adam Stulberg, and Dima Adamsky will unpack and examine how different states in different regions view strategic stability.

July 23, 2019

The INF Treaty: A Spectacular, Inflexible, Time-bound Success

This article discusses the changing dynamics that led first Moscow and then Washington to reevaluate the merit of the INF Treaty. It concludes that the treaty's relative rigidity may play a key role in its undoing and suggests that future arms control negotiations develop more flexible and resilient mechanisms of review, dispute resolution, and verification.

March 18, 2019

2019 Annual Symposium Countering WMD at 25: A Changing World

Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction’s annual symposium, Countering WMD at 25: A Changing World took place on 19-20 June 2019 at NDU, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.

Feb. 14, 2019

2019 Missile Defense Review Policy Seminar

Feb. 21, 2019 — CSWMD hosted a policy discussion of the 2019 Missile Defense Review on 21 February.

Feb. 4, 2019

Podcast: Syria and Chemical Weapons

CSWMD's Pat Terrell, with former Assistant Secretary Tom Countryman, discusses the 2013-2014 operation to remove and destroy Syria’s stock of chemical weapons.

Dec. 3, 2018

Deterrence in the 21st Century: Integrating Nuclear and Conventional Force

In this article, published in Strategic Studies Quarterly, Robert Peters, Justin Anderson, and Harrison Menke advocate better integration between nuclear deterrence strategies and nuclear deterrence operations with US conventional defense policy, strategy, and planning processes.

Dec. 3, 2018

Biotechnology for the Battlefield: In Need of a Strategy

In her article, published on War on the Rocks, CSWMD Senior Research Fellow Dr. Diane DiEuliis discusses the need for a more cohesive strategy to harness the potential uses of biotechnology on the battlefield.

Nov. 29, 2018

NATO Nuclear Policy Symposium 2018

On November 29, 2018, the National Defense University hosted the first day of the 3-day 2018 North Atlantic Treaty Organization Nuclear Policy Symposium. The theme of the conference is "NATO Nuclear Deterrence: Next Steps in the Adaptation Process." Learn more and view pictures from the event here.

Oct. 25, 2018

WMD in the Digital Age: Understanding the Impact of Emerging Technologies

In E&C Research Paper no. 4, Dr. Bajema explores three broad trends associated with emerging technologies that are fundamentally altering the WMD context, changing the threat space, and undermining the traditional tool box for countering WMD: digitization, convergence, and democratization.

July 30, 2018

North Korea's Strategic Culture and Its Evolving Nuclear Strategy

Dr. Shane Smith assesses how North Korea's peculiar strategic culture might impact its decisions over nuclear doctrine and command and control arrangements.

July 9, 2018

The Digitization of Biology: Understanding the New Risks and Implications for Governance

In research paper no. 3, Dr. Natasha Bajema, Dr. Diane DiEuliis, Mr. Charles Lutes and Mr. Yong-Bee Lim explore the implications of the digitization of biology, identify new risks and challenges for governance.

June 25, 2018

Roadmap for Implementing Biosecurity and Biodefense Policy in the United States

This past year, Dr. Diane DiEuliis, in partnership with Gryphon Scientific and Parsons, undertook an ambitious, systems-based analysis of biosecurity and biodefense policy in the United States. Here you can find the full report, an executive summary of the report, and the resultant Roadmap for U.S biodefense policy.

April 9, 2018

Emergence and Convergence: Research Paper Series

National Defense University — The E&C research paper series will explore specific topics highlighting the impact of additive manufacturing, advanced robotics, nanotechnology, and synthetic biology on the WMD space as well as potential governance challenges and solutions.

April 9, 2018

The Age of Commercial Drones: Implications for National Security and Weapons of Mass Destruction

In Emergence and Convergence research paper no. 1, Mr. Kenneth Turner explores the rise of commercial drones and its implications for CWMD.

April 9, 2018

The Future of Defense Innovation: Removing the Silos between the Warfighters and Innovators

Dr. Natasha Bajema explores the challenges of defense innovation under the current defense acquisition system.

April 4, 2018

Emergence and Convergence: Risk Assessment Survey

Fort Lesley J McNair — In its multi-year study entitled Emergence and Convergence, the WMD Center is exploring the risks, opportunities, and governance challenges for countering WMD introduced by a diverse range of emerging technologies.

April 4, 2018

Biodata Risks and Synthetic Biology: A Critical Juncture

Intrinsic to growing ability to apply classical engineering to biological systems is the mounting ‘digitization of biology’, as the genetic code and its related metadata (including translated proteins, associated functions, herein referred to as “biodata”) are amassed in order to engineer biology for specific purposes. There are three unique risks categories associated with the digitization of biology: 1) pathogen risks; 2) manufacturing risks, and 3) risks to individual privacy that can allow human harms.

Jan. 23, 2018

Negotiating a Nuclear "Code of Conduct"

The NPT five lack shared norms of nuclear behavior. Pursuing a nuclear code of conduct could resolve that and help increase both dialogue and stability.

Nov. 3, 2017

Biosecurity Implications for the Synthesis of Horsepox, an Orthopoxvirus

This article examines the biosecurity and biodefense implications resulting from the recent creation of horsepox virus, a noncirculating (extinct) species of orthopoxvirus. Here we examine the technical aspects of the horsepox virus synthesis and conclude that orthopox synthesis experiments currently remain technically challenging—and will continue to be so, even once this work is published in the scientific literature.

Oct. 3, 2017

Options for Synthetic DNA Order Screening, Revisited

DNA synthesis is a valuable research tool in the design of new biological products for medicine and manufacturing, and the ability to chemically synthesize long tracts of DNA has allowed for the development of influenza vaccines and diagnostic tests.

Aug. 30, 2017

North Korean Collapse: Weapons of Mass Destruction Use and Proliferation Challenges

38 North — Among all the challenges associated with a North Korean collapse, the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or movement of WMD out of the country will have the largest strategic implications.

Aug. 29, 2017

Exploring the Requirements of Integrated Strategic Deterrence

The workshop sought to gain a deeper understanding of how a more integrated approach to capabilities, operational concepts and plans could deliver a stronger deterrence posture to meet the challenges posed by advanced nuclear-armed adversaries in future regional crisis and conflict.

July 31, 2017

A New Approach to Eliminating North Korean Weapons of Mass Destruction is Needed

Preventing the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) against the United States and its allies has long been a paramount security objective for Washington with increased urgency since 9/11.

July 10, 2017

The Proliferation Security Initiative in 2017: U.S. Interagency Perspectives

In 2003, President George W. Bush unveiled the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) in a speech in Krakow, Poland.

May 12, 2017

Peril and Promise: Emerging Technologies and WMD

Emerging technologies are transforming life, industry, and the global economy in positive ways, but they also have significant potential for subversion by states and nonstate actors. National security experts, lawmakers, and policymakers have become increasingly concerned about the interactions among a number of emerging technologies that could alter and increase the threats from weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

April 14, 2017

The Department of Defense Chemical and Biological Defense Program: An Enabler of the Third Offset Strategy

In the current era of rapidly emerging technologies, adversaries are not only rediscovering chemical and biological weapons; they are also displaying an increased propensity to employ them to cause strategic instability among deployed forces or nations undergoing conflict. The United States's investments in its Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP) can be a critical enabler of the third offset strategy, which is a DOD initiative that seeks to maximize force capability to offset emerging threats.

March 20, 2017

March Issue, Arms Control Today: "Deter and Downsize: A Paradigm Shift for Nuclear Arms Control"

The nuclear triad approach to nuclear arms control deserves recognition for playing an important role in limiting and ultimately contributing to the reduction of their respective deployed nuclear forces, but it is unable to address the nuclear competition within the present geostrategic environment, where multiple states view nuclear forces as critically important to their long-term security. If nuclear arms control is to play a key role in preventing friction between nuclear powers and reducing nuclear risks in the 21st century, there needs to be a shift in focus and an expansion in participants.

Nov. 3, 2016

Weapons of Mass Destruction: Challenges for the New Administration

The 2015 National Security Strategy identifies the proliferation and/or use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) among the top strategic risks to the Nation’s interests. This paper examines four pressing WMD challenges for the next U.S. administration. First, the prospects of a direct clash between the United States and a nuclear-armed adversary

Sept. 25, 2016

Why the U.S.-Israel Military Aid Package Matters

After months of tense and drawn-out negotiations, on September 14 the United States and Israel signed the largest U.S. military aid package given to any country, amounting to $3.8 billion annually. The new aid package reaffirms the United States’ unwavering commitment to the security of Israel. But the culmination of the aid deal, set to come into

Sept. 1, 2016

Law of War Considerations In Fielding Nuclear Forces

The status of nuclear weapons within international law was a subject of intense debate during last fall’s UN General Assembly First Committee session. State supporters of the humanitarian initiative on nuclear weapons pressed for resolutions asserting the illegality of nuclear weapons and sought to build support for the near-term negotiation of a

July 18, 2016

The Soviet Biological Weapons Program and Its Legacy in Today’s Russia

In its first Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Case Study, the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction (CSWMD) at the National Defense University examined President Richard M. Nixon’s decision, on November 25, 1969, to terminate the U.S. offensive biological weapons program.1  This occasional paper seeks to explain why the Soviet

Sept. 1, 2012

The Presidential Nuclear Initiatives of 1991-1992

On the morning of September 28, 1991, then-Colonel Frank Klotz witnessed an historic moment at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. As he and other senior officers from the base bomber and missile units watched, the crews for the B-1 strategic bombers that had been on alert that day climbed into their cockpits, started the planes, and taxied