CNS News & Views: November 2016

James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS)

CNS News & Views:
November 2016


	Image courtesy of Pixabay

Tracking Radioactive Sources in Moldova through Social Media

Last month, CNS expert Margarita Kalinina-Pohl traveled to the Republic of Moldova for discussions with the National Agency for Regulation of Nuclear and Radiological Activities (NARNRA) on the implementation phase of the CNS-NARNRA collaborative project on tracking and locating orphaned and legacy radioactive sources in Moldova using new media tools.

If successful, this model can be used by other states for tracking and locating radioactive sources and other materials which can pose threats to nuclear, chemical, and biological security.

Learn more.


	US-made pressure transducer at enrichment facility in Natanz

Tightening Anti-Trafficking Measures

States such as Iran and North Korea have advanced their nuclear-weapon ambitions by acquiring nuclear-related commodities in violation of export controls. In an article for the Nuclear Threat Initiative, CNS Deputy Director Leonard Spector examined how these states skirted extant export controls to build their programs.

A forthcoming CNS Occasional Paper, also by Deputy Director Spector, takes this analysis further by offering practical steps to strengthen the international regime designed to combat such procurement, including ways to confront the next would-be nuclear proliferator.


	Tiara Shaya delivering a speech on behalf of CNS and MENACS.

Next Generation Experts at the Bioweapons Review Conference

In the lead-up to the Eighth Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), CNS Research Associate Gabrielle Tarini published an article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, looking at ways that states could keep the treaty fresh, effective, and meaningful.

CNS Research Associate Tiara Shaya delivered a speech to introduce to state parties the CNS project, the Middle East Next Generation of Arms Control Specialists ( MENACS) network.

Also at the BWC conference, held in Geneva November 7-25, MENACS members launched a new website, www.BWC1972.org. The website aims, inter alia, to enhance knowledge and awareness of the treaty and expand outreach to stakeholder communities.


	Siegfried S. Hecker is a research professor in the Department of Management Science and Engineering and a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University.

Superpower WMD Cooperation

Two new CNS resources highlight how, even during the height of the Cold War or its immediate aftermath, the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia could productively cooperate on important nonproliferation projects:

Sarah Bidgood and William Potter examine US-Soviet cooperation to prevent a South African nuclear test;
Dr. Siegfried Hecker of Stanford University gave an overview of Russian-American laboratory-to-laboratory cooperation in the immediate post-Cold War environment.

Learn more about CNS and MIIS efforts to promote US-Russian cooperation by training the next generation of American and Russian experts.


	You can follow Nate Taylor on Twitter @nateisgood

MIIS student Nate Taylor Showcased at NTI.org

The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) highlighted the work of MIIS student and CNS Graduate Research Assistant Nate Taylor, and his 3D modeling contributions to the NTI.org website. The article also hails the CNS-NTI partnership as an integral part of the efforts to "develop sorely needed next-generation capacity on global security issues."

Read more.


	Image courtesy of Wikimedia

Potter and Pomper on Trump's Nuclear Policy Direction

Buzzfeed's Dan Vergano contacted CNS Director William Potter and Senior Fellow Miles Pomper to find out what President-elect Donald J. Trump's policy will likely be on a range of top WMD challenges.

"It is very hard to forecast anything with respect to Mr. Trump, as his views appear to be very shallow and often contradictory," Potter told Vergano by email. "Much will depend on the national security team he assembles."