News & Views: November 2015
Former UN High Representative Joins VCDNP
The Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP) is delighted to welcome its new Senior Fellow Angela Kane.

VCDNP Executive Director Laura Rockwood and CNS Director William Potter are tremendously pleased to welcome Ms. Angela Kane to the VCDNP where she will serve as Senior Fellow. Dr. Potter praised her extraordinary commitment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and her vast experience in multilateral affairs. "We could not find a more talented individual with whom to work," he said.

Ms. Kane comes to the VCDNP from her position as United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, where she was responsible for developing and directing the UN's multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation agendas. In that capacity, she played a pivotal role in the UN's investigation into allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria in 2013 and their subsequent elimination.

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CNS at the EU Nonproliferation and Disarmament Conference
Image courtesy of IISS
The largest delegation of a nongovernmental organization at Brussels conference

CNS had a remarkable presence at the prestigious and influential EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Conference, which convened in Brussels on November 11-12, 2015. 

Dr. William Potter,  Ms. Elena Sokova, Ms. Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova, and Ms. Laura Rockwood all were featured speakers, Ms. Tiara Shaya, and Dr. Jenny Nielsen were also invited participants. 


Nonproliferation Review, latest edition
The newest issue of the widely acclaimed, peer-reviewed journal now available online

The Nonproliferation Review (22.1) features articles on Brazil's nuclear submarine program, South Africa's denuclearization, an analysis of the "medicalization" of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, a new proposal to fight bioterrorism, and more.

We are also still accepting commentaries on any of these articles for publication in a subsequent issue. Contact Acting Editor Rhianna Kreger to learn how to get your views published in the NPR
Training the Experts
Briefing the FBI on Biotechnology

Drs. Kane and Bleek lead the November 9-10 workshop
Intrigued by the CNS Occasional Paper 21 titled " Biotechnology E-commerce: A Disruptive Challenge to Biological Arms Control," the  WMD and Counterproliferation Directorate  at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), invited the paper's two authors,  Raymond A. Zilinskas  and Phillip Mauger, to conduct a briefing on the project methodology, findings, and what might be done to alleviate the problems generated by e-commerce. Accordingly, Zilinskas and Mauger spent 1.5 hours on September 14 at FBI headquarters briefing 15 special agents and analysts. After the session was over, each of the two authors were presented with Certificates of Appreciation. 

WMD Elimination Training

On November 9-10, CNS experts Dr. Chen Kane and Dr. Philipp Bleek engaged over forty government officials and nongovernmental experts to enrich their preparations for future WMD elimination missions. Drawing on experiences from the post-Soviet cooperative threat reduction program, Iraq in the 1990s and 2003, South Africa, Libya, and Syria, the two-day workshop covered strategic, diplomatic, legal, technical, and inter- and intra-agency dynamics related to WMD elimination.

Why Do States Cooperate on Nonproliferation?
A new edited volume by CNS expert 

A new book has been published by Professor Jeffrey W. Knopf, chair of the M.A. program in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies at MIIS and a senior research associate with the Institute's James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Dr. Knopf is the editor of International Cooperation on WMD Nonproliferationpublished by the University of Georgia Press. Dr. Knopf also wrote the introductory and concluding chapters in the volume, which grew out of a research project he directed.

Many discussions of nonproliferation focus on foundational global treaties, such as the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) or Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Over time, however, states have added a number of other cooperative arrangements alongside these core treaties. International Cooperation on WMD Nonproliferation is the first major study to systematically examine these other cooperative arrangements for limiting proliferation. The book seeks to understand why these other cooperative measures have emerged, to identify the reasons why states choose whether or not to participate in them, and to assess their effectiveness.

Whether you are an alum, a colleague, or an engaged citizen with a passion for nonproliferation, consider showing your support for the work of CNS by donating today. Thank you.