National Institute for Public Policy report image of the world, focusing on South America and Africa

Dec. 11, 2025

The Challenge of a Rising, Nuclear-Armed China

This National Institute for Public Policy article examines several specific developments in China’s nuclear arsenal, which, coupled with Beijing’s aggressive foreign policy, hold sobering implications for U.S. national security interests.

Banner for the "Symposium: Deter, Counter, and Defeat: WMD Challenges for the Joint Warfighter," held July 16–17, 2025. The background features a collage of military imagery including a soldier in a gas mask, helicopters, amphibious troops, fighter jets, and a bomber aircraft. Silhouettes of soldiers and WMD (nuclear, biological, chemical) hazard symbols appear along the bottom. Logos at the bottom represent the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Institute for National Strategic Studies, and National Defense University.

June 10, 2025

2025 Annual Symposium

The Institute for National Strategic Studies’ Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction at National Defense University invites you to join us on 16-17 July 2025 for our Annual Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Symposium, titled: "Deter, Counter, and Defeat: WMD Challenges for the Joint Warfighter."

INSS Senior Policy Fellow Sarah Gamberini stands in front of NATO Headquarters in April 2025.

May 1, 2025

Briefing on Nuclear Narrative Considerations for NATO to Nuclear Policy Group: Brussels

At the request of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Nuclear and Countering WMD Policy, Sarah Gamberini delivered a presentation on developing strategic communications plans for countering adversary information warfare campaigns focused on weapons of mass destruction to the Nuclear Policy Group’s High Level Group at NATO Headquarters in April 2025.

Biothreat Deterrence Roundtable

Feb. 20, 2025

INSS’ CSWMD joins DTRA to Host Biothreat Deterrence Roundtable, Strengthening Avenues for Strategic Deterrence

The United States and its allies and partners face an increasingly complex range of potential biothreats. How should the United States conceptualize, plan, and implement tailored deterrence strategies against evolving biological weapons threats? DTRA sponsored the NDU Institute for National Strategic Studies Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction (CSWMD) to hold an exploratory roundtable to examine this topic.

Cover page of CSWMD 30 Years Anniversary PDF. "The World's Most Destructive Weapons" is overlayed on the cover with an image of Earth in the background.

Oct. 7, 2024

Thirty Years of the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction

NDU’s Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction (CSWMD), part of the Institute for National Strategic Studies, has been a trusted resource on WMD challenges to senior Defense and other interagency policy leaders for 30 years. Combining deep expertise, extensive policy experience, and a wide-ranging professional network, the Center helps stakeholders across the WMD community unpack hard problems and frame solutions. Just as important is the Center’s work in preparing the next generation of military and civilian leaders and contributing to original research and the creation of new knowledge in the WMD field.

Sarah Gamberini, Senior Policy Fellow at the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction, is pictured with colleagues from the NDU Africa Center for Strategic Studies.

Oct. 2, 2024

CSWMD joins NDU Africa Center at Workshop in Lagos to Strengthen Counter-Disinformation Efforts

The NDU Africa Center for Strategic Studies conducted a Catalyzing African Defender Communities Workshop in Lagos, Nigeria from 24-27 September 2024.

An image of planet Earth from space.

Sept. 23, 2024

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.

INSS Senior Policy Fellow Sarah Gamberini (left) sits ads she listens to a speaker during a panel side session during the Executive Committee meeting in the Hague of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in an effort to bolster the norm against chemical weapons and provide countries layered solutions for countering manipulated narratives about CWC compliance.

July 11, 2024

Information Resilience and Protecting the Norm Against Chemical Weapons: The Hague

On 20 July 2024, Senior Policy Fellow Sarah Gamberini organized a panel side session during the Executive Committee meeting in the Hague of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in an effort to bolster the norm against chemical weapons and provide countries layered solutions for countering manipulated narratives about CWC compliance.

Orbis journal cover.

July 8, 2024

Bolstering Biosecurity Amid the Biotechnology Revolution

The rapid pace of novel technological change, referred to as “emerging technologies,” is challenging our ability to devise policy and governance apace. This is particularly true in the life sciences and biotechnology, where the current tools used for promoting biosecurity via policy and governance are becoming outdated.

Students and faculty practice complex war scenarios as part of U.S. Naval War College War Gaming Department

June 28, 2024

Implementing the Chairman's Guidance on Experiential Learning in PME Classrooms

In 2020, the CJCS called for more "experiential learning" in Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) classrooms. Within this April 2024 Joint Force Quarterly article, Dr. Justin Anderson and Dr. Paige Price provide an example of a simulated arms control negotiation for use in courses addressing major power competition, deterrence, adversary strategic objectives, and other related topics.